Another World
by bbdokomunikaman0123456789
Summary: An Ar Tonelico 2 Fanfic. A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?
1. Chapter 1

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 1 = Because of a lightning strike…

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**13.00 Gilbert's Room**

That afternoon, Gilbert was playing Ar Tonelico 2. He didn't really have anything to do. The weather was stormy outside and he didn't really like going to outside anyway, especially since he was still busy with this JRPG that he bought 1 week before. His friends at gaming forums and college recommended this game to him. At last, he was able to play it after finishing all his college work, knowing that he sometimes did play until he forgot everything else.

'Another Japanese RPG. Man, those people at Japan sure know how to make this genre,' he thought. While he wasn't a hardcore gamer, he loved games very much, especially RPGs.

He considered that thought again. Not a hardcore gamer? Well, anyone who was looking him for the first time would think that. Black hair, black eyes, average height and weight...he was like the average 20 year old college student.

Popular? No. He was not a very good talker; always having a hard time starting a conversation, he usually stayed quiet and only talked when needed. Although he liked it when his friends talked to him. He was also not the type of guy who could be found at parties because of this.

Smart? No. Gilbert remembered what happened when he tried to go into the top university. His entrance exam resulted in complete flop. He ended up following one of his friend to go to a college. He at first was not sure about it, but then again, what else could he do? At least he enjoyed his days there.

'I don't know if this is a good idea to play the second game without looking at the first one. Oh well, maybe they're not connected, anyway. Better to search the first game later after finishing thi-'

Suddenly, he heard an explosive sound very near him, and the lights in his room became very bright.

*BLAARRRRR*

His ears hurt from the very sound. Then, massive electricity went through his body, and knocked him unconscious.

**21.00 Somewhere in the forest…**

Gilbert woke up in the middle of the forest. His body hurt everywhere, and there was the smell of burning flesh. He tried to remember what had happened to him.

'What happened? Last thing that I remember was that I heard a massive explosion…" He got up and looked at surroundings. This place SURELY was not his apartment room. It was a forested area, with much grass on the ground. He noticed, from looking at the sky, that it was already night.

'How long was I knocked out, anyway?' he thought. He then wandered around, trying to figure out where exactly he was at. As he walked, he noticed that there was a path made of steel, crossing through the ground. He got closer to examine it.

'Hmm, I wonder what this is…'

There were two steel bars, connected with wooden planks between them. When he tried to figure what it could be, suddenly he heard a sound like a train, and it was coming closer at every second. He looked around and found out that it WAS a train. His eyes got wider and he instantly turned pale.

'O shi-' He quickly jumped aside before he could get hit by that train. He barely escaped it, and felt the wind from the train blowing on him. He was still shocked from it. He sat on the ground to calm himself down.

'Wow, that was close. I never knew that path was for trains.' Gilbert then wondered. The train that nearly hit him was different than the one in his town. He never remembered any forests with a train path in it back home, either.

'Last thing I remember, I was playing an RPG in the room, got shocked and woke up in this weird place…' Maybe he had been kidnapped, but why would anyone want to do that? His family wasn't rich. Maybe it was one of his friend's pranks. No, he couldn't think of anyone that would bring him somewhere else just for laughs. Besides, he remembered that he locked his door while he was playing. After thinking for some time, he came up with an answer.

'Okay, this must be a dream. Now I just need to hurt myself to wake up…' He stood up and went to the nearest tree, ready to bang his head.

'In three…two…one…' He smashed his head into the poor tree really hard.

*BRUAKKK*

He knocked himself out, of course.

**07****.00 Somewhere in the forest…**

Gilbert woke up and still found himself in the forest. He rubbed his head, which did hurt. 'So this is not a dream, eh…OUCH! I'm lucky that my head isn't bleeding.' His stomach is growling. He was feeling hungry and thirsty, and wondered just how much time has passed.

'Better search some food or something, then find a way to get back home,' he thought. He searched his pockets, wondering if he carried some food. He put all of his things from his pockets on the ground. He brought his trusty PDA, 2 USBs, his room's keys, and a piece of candy.

'Weird, I think these things should be shorted out when I was electrocuted…' He has a habit of bringing his small electronic things in his pockets, even when he still inside his house. It was like a good-luck charm to him. He then put everything back into his pockets, and ate the candy.

'This won't keep me up for long; I need real food to eat.' He then wandered around and found some bird like creature. It has an egg shell lon the top of its head.

'How can that shell end up on the top of those creatures? Ah, who cares? I wonder if I could kill and eat it…'

He picked up a stone and threw it at the bird-like creature, hoping that would kill it.

Wrong move.

He was now getting hungry, thirsty, AND chased by 2 angry bird-like creatures. He ran as fast as he could, before he climbed up a tree.

"HEEEEEEELLLLPPPPP!"

**07.35 Somewhere in the forest…**

Thirty minutes passed, though for Gilbert it felt like thirty hours. The creatures were stubborn. He tried to scare them off with a branch. So far, he learned that it just made them angrier.

'These creatures sure are persistent! I hope someone comes...' And he did see someone. There were 4 people coming towards him, in fact: one man and three women. The man looked to be 20 years old, had blue hair, and was wearing some weird armor. One woman had long, blonde hair, had some weird hair ornament, carried a sword, and quite an attractive body. The other woman had short, blue hair, and her clothes looked like a shaman in many games Gilbert had played before. She also wore a different, but still weird hair ornament. The last one looked like a young girl, maybe 11 years old. She had blue hair and yellow outfit.

'Wait a minute, I think I remembered someone like them. Ah, I can think about it later, first I must attract their attention…' Gilbert then began screaming, pleading to help him while trying to hit the birds below to let them know what he was trying to do.

00000

Meanwhile, Croix, Cocona, Luca, and Cloche were on their journey to Mint Block. That was the plan before they saw a man up a tree. He was wearing a red T-shirt and baggy pants, had black hair and brown skin. He was trying to scare the birds below him with a branch, screaming something in language that they didn't understand.

"Hey, anyone know what he trying to say?" asked Croix.

"I don't know, but it seems that man really needs help." Cocona said to Croix. They quickly engaged battle with the birds…

**One Song Magic later…**

It was pretty easy for the party to defeat all the birds. Croix told that man that he was safe from them now.

'Okay, no doubt, it's THEM.' Gilbert can't believe what he just saw. The party that he saw in the RPG that he just played yesterday was now helping him; and the girls used magic right in front of his eyes! Then, something crossed his mind: He somehow ended up inside the Ar Tonelico 2 world. He then climbed down to thank them.

"Thanks! I'm very grateful to you all!" He said with a happy tone. However, he noticed that the party looked confused. He didn't understand why, until Croix spoke.

"Nani o itte iru nodesu ka?"

'Uh oh…'

END OF CHAPTER ONE


	2. Chapter 2

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't own Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 2 = Monster Battle

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

Author Note: To make things simpler, I only included the characters' English names, so no one will get confused. For example, the characters are called: Croix 'Croah', Luca 'Ruka', Cloche 'Chroche', etc… Just imagine that their name talked in Japanese when they are speaking.

**Mint Forest**

Gilbert had another problem. His game was the English version while Croix was talking in Japanese. He suspected that if Croix spoke Japanese, everyone in this world did too. Gilbert himself only understood a little bit of Japanese, but not enough to even understand the conversation going on before him.

Gilbert looked at Croix. He spoke to others in Japanese. 'I'd better think of how to communicate with them, quickly.'

00000

"Luca, have you seen him before? Maybe he's Rashek citizen that got lost here," Croix asked.

"No, I haven't. It doesn't look like he's from Rashek or Mint Block."

"Well, he seems be lost, though. Looking from how he ran from rather weak monsters, I don't think he even knows how to fight them."

"He's lucky that we found him," Cocona added

"Besides, we don't even know what he's talking about. Maybe he's speaking in a different language." said Croix.

Suddenly there was a rather loud noise coming from the lost man, namely a rumbling stomach. He looked hungry. Luca then gave him food, which was eaten quickly.

"I wonder how long since he last ate. He sure looks hungry," she added.

After finishing his meal, the man reached for Croix's shoulder, obviously wanting to get everyone's attention.

00000

'Maybe they'll understand what I'm trying to say with some gestures. I'd better try it,' Gilbert thought. He then trying to show what he was wanted to say.

'I hope this works.'

00000

The man made some gestures to everyone. First he pointed to himself, shook his head, and pointed to the ground.

"I think he wanted to say something to us," Cloche said.

"I…not…here…I think he's mean that he's not from here," Cocona spoke.

Then he pointed at himself again, towards his mouth, shook his head, pointed to them, then made a hand sign of a talking mouth.

"I…mouth…no…you…talk…Maybe he means that he can't speak our language." Cocona said again.

"Cocona, can you ask him what his name is, and how he got here?" Ask Croix

00000

Gilbert thought, 'Maybe this is working!' He wasn't really sure but he just hoped that they got what he was trying to say. Gilbert then saw Cocona pointing at herself, and saying 'Cocona', then pointing him. He thought that maybe she was introducing herself and asking for his own name.

"Gilbert," he replied. Cocona then smiled. She pointed to the man in armor and said, "Croix." The other girls seemed to know what Cocona meant and they introduced themselves too.

The blue haired girl in shaman dress smiled then pointed to herself and said, "Luca."

Cloche wanted to introduce herself, but remembered that she's undercover. But then, Gilbert saw her, pointed to her and asked…

"Cloche?"

All eyes instantly set on him. Gilbert suddenly remembered that Cloche is undercover because the Sacred Army was chasing her.

'Dang! How could I forget that?' Gilbert quickly thought of an excuse. He then pointed to his eye, then at Cloche, and gestured about when she did her speech in Pastalia, indicating that he knew her because he saw her at that time.

'Well, if I say that I know her because I play Croix and others, they won't believe it.' It seemed that the party understood what he trying to say through his gesture and calmed down.

Cloche nodded to him, showing that he was right, her name was Cloche.

00000

"Wait, so he comes from Pastalia?" say Cloche.

"I'll ask him," Cocona suggested. She then pointed to him, drew imaginary picture of a house with her finger, then asked him, "Pastalia?"

Gilbert looked her for a while, wondering what she meant, then shook his head.

"So he is a foreigner…How did he end up here, anyway?" say Croix.

Cocona knew that he wanted her to ask Gilbert about that, so she did. Cocona pointed to Gilbert, then to the ground. Gilbert didn't do anything, a puzzled look on his face.

"I think he doesn't know…" Croix said to Cocona.

"Or maybe he doesn't understand what you're trying to say," Luca suggested.

00000

Gilbert thinks that he'd better stick with the party, since he knows that in RPGs, any place can be infested with monsters. If he was alone, he wouldn't last long.

'Maybe I can find out how to go back to my own world while adventuring with them. Better ask them now, before they decide to leave me somewhere safe…'

Gilbert then called to Cocona, then pointed to himself, using his fingers to demonstrate walking, pointed to them, indicating that he wanted to go along with them.

00000

"I think he wants to go with us." Cocona said.

"Well, he can go with us, but does he have any weapons so he can at least fight something?" Croix ask.

"Seeing that he climbed up that tree before when he encountered a monster, I think not," said Cloche.

"I think you can give him your spare weapon, " Luca suggested.

"I do have a spare weapon, but I'm not sure about giving it to a stranger…" Croix didn't seem to like that idea.

"Come on, he doesn't look like a bad person. Besides, we can't let him be helpless, right?" Cocona protested.

"Okay, okay…*Sigh*" Croix said. He reluctantly gave his spare weapon. It wasn't very good, but at least it could provide Gilbert with some attack and defense capabilities. He looked amazed and tried to use it.

"Croix, don't you think you should teach him how to use it?" Luca asked.

"I want to, but I don't know how to instruct him with signs…"

00000

'Hey, this is lighter than I thought…' Gilbert thought while he swung the spear-gun. He remembered that the spear-gun has some rocket engine inside when Croix attacked with it.

'Now how to ac-'

Gilbert pulled the trigger inside the weapon and accidentally activated the rocket engine. He was flung forwards, destroying the trees in front of him. He quickly released the trigger.

'Wow, it has massive power…' Gilbert then looked at the button beside the weapon. He pushed it and the spear-gun opened and a barrel came out of the top.

'I guess it's the rifle mode…' He then tried to aim it and shot a tree. Gilbert remembered that his accuracy can be better if he used bursts or single shot, so he just pulled the trigger a while. Three bullets came out and hit the tree in succession. Now Gilbert learned another fact: the weapon had low recoil and a lot of power.

00000

**09.00**** Mint Forest**

"For someone new to that weapon, he's learning fast," Croix looked at Gilbert while the party sat on the ground.

"Why is it he's not wearing any shoes?" Cocona noticed that Gilbert was barefoot.

"Maybe it's a custom in his region?" asked Luca.

"Maybe he just lost them when he was traveling," Cocona said.

Croix then stood up.

"We better get going. Cocona, can you call that-" Croix talked to Cocona just before the party heard a sound from the bush beside them.

It was the birds again, and they were ready for a fight. Gilbert saw this and started to run to the birds ready to attack them. Croix held him back

"No, we'll handle this."

Cocona protested, "C'mon, brother, it's just a weak monster. I think this'll make good practice for him." Croix agreed and released him.

"Alright then…Hey, Gilbert!" he called out, then he pointed to Luca, and giving gestures to protect her.

00000

'I think it's clear that he wants me to protect Luca in battle,' Gilbert remembered how battle goes in Ar Tonelico 2. He must steadily defend the Reyvateil while he's fighting these monsters, since they're focused on singing their song magic.

Gilbert heard singing by Cloche and Luca, but he didn't look behind, since he needed to focus more on the enemy whenever they decided to strike.

Croix started the battle, jumping to one bird and stabbing it with his spear-gun, while Gilbert shot at another with his own weapon.

'I'd better keep close to Luca; beside I don't really do well at close combat,' Gilbert thought. He also remembered that in game, he could build his attack level by doing what Luca wanted him to do. But he didn't know if it worked here, since he didn't even know what Luca would say to him. Also, now that he was directly involved in combat, which probably didn't have any attack or defense phases.

A bird charged towards Luca. Gilbert quickly stabbed it before it could reach her. Another monster came at him quickly, piercing Gilbert's left arm with its beak. He let out a cry of pain and got ready to stab the bird, which quickly moved back before he could.

'Dammit, I let my guard down…'

Blood started flowing from his wound. It wasn't too deep, but it definitely hurt. Gilbert then saw a fireball flying across to the birds, killing them all. He assumed it was from Cloche's song magic. The battle was over.

00000

Croix looked at Gilbert's wound. It wasn't too bad, but it needed to get treated quickly.

"Luca, can you help him with this?" Croix asked.

"Sure." She then invoked a song magic of healing. The wound began to disappear. "You shouldn't push yourself too hard…" Luca told Gilbert as she healed his wound.

"He should be wearing some armor to prevent this…" Cocona said. Not long after that, the wound was gone. Gilbert just smiled at Luca. If he had been able to speak to her, he would have thanked her.

"Okay, let's get moving again…" Croix said, and then all of the party stood up and continued to the Mint Block.

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. Chapter 3

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 3 = Connected with the real world

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**10.00**** Mint Forest**

Gilbert continued to think while he and the party walked to Mint Block. Cocona had an idea to teach him their language while they walked, since the trip would take a long time. As such, they decided to try to teach Gilbert some of the basic words. So far, there was little progress, but at least he could now understand a little bit.

Cocona pointed at her eyes and said "Me."

"Me?" said Gilbert while pointing at his own. Cocona smiled and nodded. She felt like she was teaching a 3 year old younger brother how to talk, an exciting task.

Luca then pointed to her hair and said, "Kami."

Gilbert looked at Luca, then touched his own hair and repeated her words, "Kami."

Luca smiled and nodded to him. Gilbert really worked on his 'private Japanese lessons'. Many of the simple words he was taught in one hour's time. He wanted to tell them to slow down, but he couldn't tell them, since he didn't know how.

'C'mon, I can't remember all the words that I'm learning at one time! Oh well, at least I'll know a lot of Japanese language when I reach Mint Block.' Gilbert thought. A thought suddenly crossed his mind; maybe he could use his PDA as a kind of translator or dictionary to help him. But he knew that he did not have such a program in it. He can search it and download it on the internet, but he wasn't sure if it still work since he was on another world. Maybe the signal would not reach the ISP. Still, it was worth a try…

Gilbert took his PDA and started an internet connection, hoping that it successfully connected. After a few seconds, it did, which he was grateful for. He then used it to search for some translator application for his device. But it seemed that his luck ran out, because that application had to be bought.

'Dang it! Well, maybe I can contact somebody I know…' Gilbert then accessed his video chat account, knowing that somebody might be logged in now. He found someone.

"Hey, Billy, are you there?"

Gilbert knew this man well. His full name was Billy West. He's what people called an 'Avid Gamer'. He was the man that recommended this game to him. He had written and published several strategy guides and had a very high level of knowledge with computers and other electronic devices, hardware and software. He also was one of Gilbert's best friends since high school. Gilbert knew if he wanted to ask for an application for his PDA, his friend would be the one to go to.

"Yo Gilbert! Long time no see! I think last time was at graduation." Billy was excited when he saw his old friend. Gilbert saw him wearing glasses, brown hair, and T-shirt. It seemed that he hadn't changed since high school.

"Sorry, I got busy with college. Hey, I need some help here."

"Tell me what it is. Your PDA get busted again?"

"Worse than that, really." Gilbert proceeded to tell him what happened: he played Ar Tonelico 2, got struck by lightning, and met Croix and the party.

"Eh, dude, are you on drugs?" Billy asked him, unbelieving. Gilbert knew that this would be his response. Besides, who would have believed that someone had been sucked into a game world?

"No, I'm serious, look." Gilbert then pointed his PDA camera to the party.

"Wow, they really look like the cast. Are you at a cosplay event?"

"They ARE the cast! Just hear them!" Gilbert then let Billy hear Croix talking to Cocona in Japanese. Luca looked at Gilbert with a puzzled expression, confused as to why he looked so frustrated.

"Okay, you are scaring me. They REALLY look and sound like the cast. But last time I remembered, I think you couldn't speak Japanese. How did you go to Japan?"

Gilbert let out a sigh. "This is the problem. I need a translator application to allow me to know what they were talking about. They're also trying to give me some lessons, but I think I can learn faster with the translator."

"Okay, I'll send you the link. Check your e-mail later. Hey, can I talk to them?"

"Sure, maybe you will believe me after you talk with them." Billy spoke very fluent Japanese; he learned it because he knew that some games would not be translated into English, so he took a Japanese course back when he was still at middle school. By now, he was most likely a master in it.

00000

Croix looked at Gilbert while walking. He seemed to be communicating with someone using that device in his hand. He spoke in the language that he didn't know.

"Maybe he's calling his friend…" Cocona said quietly. Then, Gilbert suddenly touched Cocona, and handed her his PDA.

"Hello Cocona!" The man in the device said, startling her.

"Eh, you know our language?" she asked. This got Croix and the others' attention. The party stopped and surrounded Cocona.

"Yeah, I know it. Oh, hello there Croix, Luca, Lady Cloche. Gilbert told me about you guys."

"Croix, aren't we supposed to keep undercover? Why are you letting him talk about us to other people?" Cloche whispered.

"I don't know how to tell him that we are trying to escape from Sacred Army now," Croix replied in a whisper.

Billy continued talking. "My name is Billy. Sorry that my friend can't speak your language. I already give him an application so that he can understand what all of you are saying. I hope that he don't become a burden to your party."

"It's okay. In fact, he helped us defeat monsters," Croix said.

"Really? Wow, that's quite a feat!" Billy said, amused.

"By the way, where did you all come from?" asked Cocona.

"Well, let's just say that we come from another land that's very different from here. I also don't know how he ended up there, since he doesn't really remember much. Oh, and I hear you gave him a lesson about your language. Did he learn well?"

"He's good student. He has managed to learn some words, right, Gilbert?" Cocona gave a wink to Gilbert. He just gave her a smile, obviously not knowing why she winked at him.

"Good then, keep teaching him your language. He can learn it very fast. Trust me, he is actually smart in languages, I know him. Besides that application is not too reliable to use in communications anyway, he needs to learn," Billy said to her.

Cocona smiled and cheerfully replied to Billy, "Okay! I'll keep working on him!"

"That's the spirit. Now, can you give the device back to Gilbert? I need to talk to him about something." Cocona then gave Gilbert's PDA back to him.

00000

"Believe me now?" he asked Billy.

"Hmmm, let's see. I'll believe you if I see Luca and Cloche using their song magic," was the reply.

"Eh, dude, I think we won't see any battle here. We already walked for an hour and-"

Croix stopped Gilbert. He then point at his PDA, then used his hand to gesture mouth talking. Gilbert thought that he wanted to talk to Billy.

"Billy, I think Croix want to talk to you." Gilbert said, then gave the PDA to him.

00000

"Yeah, what's wrong Croix?" Billy said.

"First, I want to ask you a question. How can you see here with this device?" Croix asked.

"Well, there is a camera in the front and on the back of it. Why do you ask?"

"You see…" Croix then pointed the camera to a girl, far away from where he stood. "She has IPD disease, I want you to tell Gilbert to stay here while we contain her."

"I see, but why? I though you said that Gilbert helped you fight monsters?

"Well, he doesn't wear any armor, so any hit that he receives won't be reduced. I won't put him at risk by fighting an IPD Reyvateil, since last time he fought a monster, he hurt his arm."

"Understood. I'll tell him." Croix then gave the PDA back to Gilbert.

00000

"What did Croix say?" Gilbert asked Billy.

"He wants you to stay here, because he will contain a Reyvateil with IPD disease. He won't put you into a risk by fighting an IPD since you're not wearing any armor."

"I get his point. It will be risky, since last time-"Gilbert said, but was cut off by Billy.

"You hurt your arm. Yes, he told me. It seems that I got my wish to see a fight." Billy just grinned widely. "Point the camera to them, please."

"Okay. I'm sure you'll believe me after this." Gilbert then pointed the camera towards the upcoming battle.

Croix and Cocona defended every attack that was launched as Cloche and Luca cast their song magic. A ball of lightning was seen over them.

"I can't believe it! They REALLY can cast song magic! It's Brave Thunder level one," Billy said, amazed. After a while the lightning ball struck the IPD and knocked her unconscious. Croix than managed to contain her.

"Okay dude. I've seen enough. I believe in you. Now, what can I do to help you further?" Billy asked Gilbert.

"You have finished the game many times right? I need you to predict what action I should do, so I can keep myself alive," Gilbert said to his friend. "But, NO SPOILERS. Technically, I still am playing the game, and I don't want to get spoiled. Just tell me what to do."

"Okay, if the storyline doesn't change…"

"What do you mean?"

"Simple. Your presence alone in theory has altered the story, since you don't exist in that world. Just try to minimize changes to the story. And when I say don't kill a certain enemy, DON'T KILL THEM. He or she or it must be important to the plot and if you killed them before their time to die, you will make a major change in story and I can't predict what will come next, or, worst-case scenario, a pime taradox, er…time paradox."

"I get it. Don't kill certain character when you say so. Anything else?" Gilbert asked.

"Stick to the party. Since the game don't cover any other character than the party, I can only predict what will happen next if you do."

"Okay. Other tips?" Gilbert asked Billy again.

"If you can, get a Reyvateil girlfriend."

"What?"

"You heard me. GET A REYVATEIL GIRLFRIEND! Especially the one that has been cured of IPD disease."

"There is a cure for IPD disease?"

"Of course, but how to cure it, you'll know how."

"Why I should get one?"

"One, I know from your personality, you don't have any girlfriends now. You're too quiet. Two, I'm gonna need her help to connect to the song server, and I can import songs to there. This way will make her have some unique song magic, and you can be more protected. Besides…"

"Besides what?"

"It's unpredictable. I can convert some songs to song magic by inserting some language that you don't understand into them and send them to a song server, but the result is unknown until someone tests it. It's just a theory about how to create song magic, and this theory is only based on fan analysis, but since you are in the Ar Tonelico world…" Billy was slowly grinning.

"I'm not sure about that. It's like manipulating someone's feelings for our own needs…" Gilbert said slowly.

"That's why I said if you CAN. I won't push you into this, I just want to prove my theory after all. But in case that you find someone that you loved and she is willing to do this…"

"Yeah, yeah…I'll see what I can do…Oh, and do you have any plans to bring me back to the real world?"

"I think I'll start investigating your place first. Where do you live now?"

"You know the apartment that's not too far from my college? That's where. My room is locked, so get my spare key. It's under the pot beside the door. Ask people where my room is."

"Got it. I better go now, I'll log in again when I arrive at your room. How about your PDA battery?"

Gilbert looked at the screen and saw that the battery was always at 100%."Okay, somehow my PDA's battery doesn't run out now. Weird."

"I'm not really surprised; if a man can suck to game world, I won't be surprised about this. See you later then!" Billy said then logged out. Gilbert then opened his e-mail, and downloaded the application that Billy gave to him. It would be a while before the download was finished.

"Gilbert! "Croix called to him and signaled him to go now. Gilbert stood up and walked to the party, ready to continue their journey…

END OF CHAPTER 3


	4. Chapter 4

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 4 = Arrived at Mint Block At Last

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

Author Note: No, I can't speak Japanese; any Japanese words here are directly taken from internet translator. So if there were any mistakes in the Japanese words, sue them… -_-

**13****.00 Mint Block**

After much time had passed, filled with walks, language courses, and battles with the lurking monsters, finally they arrived to Mint Block. Gilbert wondered how Luca could walk alone to Rashek when she didn't have money to ride the train, much less without being picked by one of the monsters.

Gilbert looked at the place. Finally he could rest after battles and the long walk. He was tired, but he didn't want to rest while everyone else was walking, since he would only slow them down. Besides, he really needed to train his stamina, since he knows this is only the start. Later he would need to get stronger, faster and smarter, or become a burden for Croix's party or worse, killed by monsters/bosses.

When the party was in front of Luca's house, Gilbert's PDA suddenly started beeping. Gilbert took it from his pocket and checked what had happened. Just in time, the translator program was now downloaded and installed. Gilbert tried to test it.

00000

When Croix started go to inside Luca's house, he heard a beeping noise. No, it wasn't an IPD warning, the sound was different. It was coming from Gilbert. The party looked him, wanting to know what happened. Gilbert then spoke in the language that nobody could understand. Well, except for Billy and any person in his homeland, that was. Gilbert than showed his PDA to the party.

"Hey, there's a word there on the that device…" Luca noticed. She then proceed to read it.

"Testing, testing…Hello, can you hear, oh wait, read this? If yes, please nod to me." Luca said. The party then nodded to Gilbert. His face seemed to light up with joy. He then said something again and a new text is generated on his PDA. Luca then read it again.

"Ah, it worked. For now, I'll communicate to you with this. If you don't mind, please keep teaching me your language, since it's troublesome if I talk to you all always looking this device. Besides I want to speak directly to you all," Luca reads.

"Don't worry! We'll be happy to teach you! I feel like I'm teaching a younger brother how to speak, it's fun! Right, Croix?" Cocona asked. Croix just nodded to her.

Suddenly a new text generated in letters that no one could read. Gilbert looked at his PDA, it looked like it was written in his language. Gilbert then smiled and said directly to them:

00000

"Arigatōgozaimasu." Gilbert tried to surprised them. It seemed to work, because they looked like parents that heard their child speak for the first time, they look very surprised and happy. Gilbert then say something to his PDA:

"Well, did I pronounce it right?" He then show it to the party. Cocona nodded to him, and said something to him. Gilbert then looked at his PDA and read what Cocona had just said to him:

"Yes, you pronounced it right! Wow, you learn fast, I'll teach you more later. Your friend on the device previously said that we need to work on you learning our language." Suddenly, Gilbert remembered Billy. Did he already reach his room now? Nah, he must be called him through his video chat account when he arrives at his room. Gilbert then said something to the PDA and showed it to the party.

00000

"Of course I learned fast, I have many nice teachers here to teach me. Now, can we go inside now?" Cocona read the text. She seemed happy with what Gilbert said. The party then proceed to go inside.

00000

**Luca's House**

Gilbert looked inside Luca's house. Its looks strangely comfy enough, since the outside of the house was not really good looking. But whatever, when he can rest, any place will be good enough.

He noticed a woman inside the house, she looked to be in her 30s, had long hair that was put up. Gilbert assumed that she was Luca's mom. Luca then said something to her, that she was going uptairs. Her mother then yelled at her for something. Gilbert saw that Luca and her mom have some family problems, but was not interested in interfering since problems like were better left to on her own, or Croix, since he knew her better. Gilbert looked at his PDA to see what Luca and her mother had said, but it seemed that their voices were too far away to be translated, because no text appeared on the screen.

'Well, I think I can only use this when the person isn't too far from me.' It sucks since he can't understand people said unless he was close to them. At least he learning Japanese now; soon or later he would understand what people said by just hearing them.

Croix, Cloche, and Cocona then talked to Luca's mom. Gilbert couldn't read what Luca's mom had said since she out of range of the translator. First Croix told her that he had gotten an emergency mission. Luca's mom said something, then Cloche said that she was grateful for allowing them to stay here. Gilbert assumes that Luca's mom was welcoming them.

Cocona then said to Luca's mom that the woman in the white outfit is really the Holy Maiden, Lady Cloche, then proceed to introduce herself. Croix glared at her, but Cocona said to him that sooner or later, Luca's mom was going to figure it out. Gilbert looked at Luca's mom, she seemed to be very surprised.

00000

"Whaaaaaaaaaat!" Reisha said. She then composed herself. "*ahem * I'm very sorry that my house is so… shabby."

"No, that's not true. I'm sorry to trouble you. And, thank you very much." Cloche said to Reisha. Cocona then told her that she lived in Croix house. Reisha asked Croix, Is that so?" Croix then excused himself quickly to check on Luca, making a big misunderstanding. Cocona then told Reisha to not worry, since Cocona was like his little sister.

"Oh, is that so? Well, you are still very young," Reisha said to Cocona. "And who is the man behind you, Cocona? Is he Croix's friend?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce him…" Cocona said. She then explained to Reisha that his name was Gilbert, how the party found him in the forest, his inability to speak in their language, Cocona's attempts to teach her their language, and more. Reisha then looked at him, noticing his unusual clothing and bare feet. She also saw that he was looking at a device most of the time. Cocona said to her that he used that device to make him understand their language, and called his friends in his own land.

"Why does he still need to learn our language if he already has a translator?" Reisha asked.

"His friend in their homeland said that the translator was not really that good, so we need to keep teaching him," Cocona explained.

"I see." Reisha then tried to communicate with him. "Your name was Gilbert, right?"

He looked at Reisha, then motioned for her to come closer. After she did, he then said something to his device, and showed it to her. She read the words on it.

"Sorry, this device can only translate when the person is close to me. What did you say again?"

"Oh, pardon me. I didn't know about that. I said, your name was Gilbert, right?" She repeated while smiling at him. Gilbert looked at the new word generated on his device, said something, and then showed her the new text.

"Yes, I am. You are very nice to let us stay here. You are Luca's mother, right?"

Reisha smiled a bit then reply to Gilbert, "It's nothing large, really. Yes, I am Luca's mother, but you can call me Reisha."

Gilbert look at the new words on the device again, suddenly that device beeping. Gilbert did something on it, said said something, and showed it to Reisha.

"Okay, miss Reisha. Excuse me, I need to go outside, I got a transmission from my friend back home." She then give him a nod and he went outside.

"He was a nice person. Anyway, I have to prepare for dinner. It's a humble meal, but please stay," she said to Cloche and Cocona.

"Ms. Reisha, if you don't mind, I would like to help." Cloche said.

00000

Gilbert opened his video chat account. Yep, that was Billy, but in the chat room there was another four persons on it.

"Yes, Billy. Who are they?" Gilbert asked. 

"Ah, they're my friends at a gaming forum. They believe you. I happened to save our chat record and sent it to the forum, and asked if anyone want to follow me to help you." Billy replied.

"Only 3 other persons believed the video?" Gilbert ask again.

"Of course not, these are the only ones who have the time and are close enough to come with me. We're ready to help you. The others who also believe you are waiting for our report at forums."

"I see, but what about their food?"

"Don't worry about that, Gilbert. About the food, I've arranged it. They're bringing their own PDA and other devices like a toolbox, PC, graphics card, and so on to use, just in case."

"Alright, thanks. Hey, can you all introduce yourself?" Gilbert said to the others in the chat room. Gilbert looked at them. There are 2 men and 1 woman. One man wore an army-like suit, had spiky short black hair, brown eyes, and light skin. The other man had dark brown skin, black eyes, short brown hair, and wore a T shirt. The woman had short red hair, light skin and wore glasses, a T-shirt and a jacket.

"Hello there!" They said in unison.

"My name is Joseph Liebert, but you can call me Josh."

The man wearing army-looking suit said to him, "I look at your video chat. That was cool, did you-" He was cut off by the red-haired woman.

"Hey, save the questions for later! Hello, my name is Karen, nice to meet you!" she smiled, then the last man introduced himself.

"I'm Hans. Hello there." The man with black eyes said to Gilbert. "Sooooo, where are you now Gilbert?"

"I have arrived at Mint Block now. How about you all? Did you already reach my room?"

" Sort of, we're now in front of your room, ready to go in." Billy replied.

"Besides, why do you hide your room's key at the pot? Anyone can find it, you know…" Karen asked Gilbert.

"Well, just in case I forgot my keys, same reason why some people hide their spare key under their rug. You all better go in now." Gilbert said to them. Billy looked under the pot, found the key, and inserted it into the keyhole.

"Ready?"Billy asked. Josh, Karen, and Hans nodded to him. He then opened the door and they went inside.

Billy looks inside. It was messy, very messy. It looked as though a bomb had gone off inside.

"Yo man, I think you should clean your room better. If the police looked this, they'd think a robbery happened in here," Billy said to Gilbert.

"What was that for…" Gilbert grumbled. Billy noticed that his PS2 and TV were still turned on.

"Hey guys, check this out!" Billy called his team towards him. They looked at the TV. It show them a man standing on the Mint Block, outside of Luca's house, but still in Ar Tonelico 2's small sprite graphics.

"Wait, I never saw any sprites like that…" Karen said, looking at the man.

"I think I have seen that…Uh oh…" Billy realized something.

"What? What are you seeing in there?" Gilbert asked Billy. The TV generated new text in a balloon over the man:

"Nanidesu ka? Anata wa soko de nani o sanshō shite kudasaidesu ka?" Billy was now sure what the scene was.

"Gilbert, we can see you here, through the TV," Billy said. "Okay that's it. It cemented your status as a man trapped in the game world."

"Hey, why aren't you wearing any footgear Gilbert?" Hans saw that the sprite on the TV was barefooted.

"I didn't wear any when I was sucked into this world." Gilbert explained.

"Okay…This is becoming more and more weird…" Josh said. He then took the PS2 controller and tried to play it. No luck. The controller only moved the camera, changed the camera perspective, but there was no direct control over the game.

"Interesting…Hey Billy, we better set up our equipment here now." Josh said to him.

"Good idea. Gilbert, now you better go rest while we set up the equipment. According to the story, tomorrow the party will go to meet Leglius. Try to get some rest, you will face an ambush there. Don't warn them about the ambush. Remember; less change to story, less trouble."

"Before that…" Josh talk to them. "How about detailing our operation? We must get this interesting for when we post this to the gaming forum so that people will like it!"

"Duh, can you all do that later? I need to go back to the real world quickly, before I get killed…" Gilbert objected.

"C'mon, this is fun! Besides, there are many people at the forums wait for our report about you." Karen tried to make the discussion exciting. "How about naming this operation: Snake Ea-"

"Stop. Right. There. Copyright issue, we can't use that name." Billy interrupted.

"Yeah, you're right…How about…" There was about 5 minutes of discussion before they all agreed with a name.

"Alright, we named this operation 'Home Searcher'. Primary Objective: Bring Gilbert back to our world. Secondary Objective: Conduct research about their world for fun and profit. Now we need a code name for each person here…" Billy summarized their discussion, while Karen typed on her laptop.

"Wait, are codenames even necessary?" Gilbert asked.

"No, but it's cool," Billy answered. Gilbert facepalmed at that. 'I've got some retards for help. Duh, for now, ANY help is needed.'

"Alright, but let me pick the codenames for each of you." Gilbert let out a sigh, trying to play along with them.

"Deal." The four persons inside Gilbert's room said in unison.

"First, Billy, because you are the one conducting the operation and know better about the games, I called you Major…Spoiler." Gilbert said.

"Major Spoiler… oh well, at least I'm the MAJOR." Billy said while grinning.

"Actually it kind of fits him…He's sometimes spoiling the story about many games without warning back at the forums, getting into some trouble at least a few times," Josh said.

"And you, Karen. Because you have red hair, I'll call you Red Herring." Gilbert said.

"Hey! Can you think of something better than that?" Karen apparently didn't like it very much…

"And you, Josh, what is your specialty?" Gilbert asked him.

"Me? I have good knowledge about weapons. Actually, I have some weapon schematics in my laptop to use when you reach a blacksmith, so we can synthesize a weapon out of it," Josh said.

"Hmmmm… I get it. I'll call you Whiskey Pete, after one type of shells used in artillery."

"Oh well, at least I got better name than Red Herr-" Josh said before he was kicked in the face by Red Herring. It was a good thing that she wore jeans, she could kick anyone freely without revealing her panties.

"Shut. Up."

"Errrr…moving on. Hans…What is your skill?."Gilbert said.

"I'm good at hacking and finding cheats, making trainer for a game, something like that."

"Okay then, I just call you Hax."

"Good enough for me." Hans said while taking out the devices that he is given, ready to set them up.

"As for yourself…Hey, any ideas?" Billy asked.

"How about Ghost? He is an outsider to that world, just like a ghost who is a supernatural being not from this world." Josh requested.

"Whatever the name is good. So can I go rest now?" Gilbert asked him.

"Of course. Oh, Cocona is behind you, Ghost." Billy told him.

Gilbert turned around look at Cocona, startling her. She then said something, and he looked at his PDA to see the translation.

"Meal is ready Gilbert, let's go inside!" Gilbert smiled and gave her a nod and went inside, hoping the next day wouldn't be really hard when the ambush came.

END OF CHAPTER 4


	5. Chapter 5

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 5 = You Are Designated Marksman

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**09.00**** Mint Block**

Gilbert A.K.A Ghost was now training his accuracy with the mechanical spear. He got a call in the early morning from Whiskey Pete, request him to train…

FLASHBACK

**05.00**** Mint Block**

Ghost was awakened by a beeping sound, coming from his PDA. He looked at his Video Chat account. Only Whiskey Pete's account was active, and was actively trying to signal him.

"Hello, Ghost…Wake up…" Pete said.

"Yeah yeah…I'm awake…What is it? You can call me later, you know…" said Ghost.

"Duh, no time for that. You go outside now, make a target dummy, and start training with it. You must be prepared for the ambush later," Pete explained to him.

"Alright…Where are the others? Major, Herring, and Hax?"

"They still asleep, still tired from playing Ultra-Real Tournament 3."

"What? What about the settings on the devices you all brought?"

"Don't worry about that, we already set it up. Hey, we also need to refresh ourselves…Don't be surprised if we played some games a little…"

"Of course I won't be! I'm already grateful with you already for assisting me with going back to real world. By the way, any luck about finding what actually happen to me so I can get sucked to this world?"

"Nuh uh…We only got that you showed speak Japanese on the game and other people at there speak English on the game." Pete shake his head."We have started on researching, but no luck. Maybe we'll start look on your PS2 later… Just try to not get killed, okay?"

"I'll try." Ghost said, chuckling a bit.

END FLASHBACK

And here he was, shooting some dummy targets with Whiskey Pete guiding him with range training. So far he has proved that he has good accuracy, but only when he aimed. When he tried shooting while moving, he had a hard time trying hit anything, other than the slow movement from the big weapon. In melee, he has low speed and strength, making him bad in close combat.

"Okay…I won't expect something really good from you. After all, you're not from army or special force." Whiskey Pete said to Ghost."You really need to work on your close combat skills, or you're dead meat."

"But this weapon is too big! Not heavy, but it's hard to move with it," Ghost complained to Pete.

"Well, I have planned to create a smaller knife for close combat, but it won't provide any defense. In battle you can block attacks easier with that big mechanical spear, but with a combat knife…Unless you learn some close quarter combat, of course. Remember, it's not just about stabbing in close combat. I'll teach you when the time comes."

"Alright…" Ghost sat outside. This training was really making him exhausted.

"Don't push yourself too hard Ghost, you still need some energy to walk to Coal Lodge." A woman's voice could be heard from the PDA. It was Red Herring.

"Morning. You all already woke up?" greeted Ghost.

"About a minute ago I guess. Billy is now taking a bath, he was really down after I beat him in Ultra-Real Tournament 3 last night…" Red Herring told him.

"Wait, you can play FPS?" Ghost asked her.

"What? Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I suck at so called 'boys' games. My all girls team once won an Ultra-Real Tournament 3 on third place. I also like H.E.L.L.O series, Quarter Life and its entire episode, and many more!" Red Herring complained to him."It just our population is not as much as man…"

"I just asking, okay…"Ghost tried to talk to her. "I won't underestimate you girls in gaming. Now where is Hax…"

"He's gone to the computer store, buying some hardware he says…" Red informed Ghost.

"I see… I better go inside now; I hope I don't wake anyone up…" Ghost said before he went inside Luca's House.

"What you have taught him so far, Josh?" Red asked Pete, now sitting beside him.

"Just some combat lessons. Hey, can you make any coffee? I really need it now…" Ask Pete.

"I'll make it later. Anyway, have you sent the report to the forum?"

"Yes, with the recorded video chat. I'm sure that the people in the forum will love it. I hope someone at GUST will see it…I can't imagine their faces looking at this." Pete said while grinning evilly.

00000

**10.00**** Mint Block**

Croix and the others were ready to leave Luca's house, heading to Coal Lodge. Gilbert was now waiting for Croix and Luca outside. He quickly got a language lesson from Cocona, just because she was bored. Not too long after that, Croix and Luca finally went with them. Gilbert asked Croix what had happened inside, using his PDA. The Knight looked at the text and just replied calmly:

"It's…Well, better leave that, okay?" Gilbert looks at the PDA. He understands and start to learning Japanese with Cocona and Luca again. Luca's seems to try to forget something.

**12.00 Coal Lo****dge**

Leglius has been waiting for the party quite long. Finally the party arrived at Coal Lodge.

"I'm glad you're safe." said Croix after greeting him.

"You're late. I got tired of waiting." Leglius replied.

"Sorry."

Leglius then looked at Gilbert.

"Who is that man?" Leglius asked Croix.

"Well…" He then proceeded to tell everything that happened to him.

"Why don't you leave him somewhere safe like Rashek?" Leglius asked.

"He wanted to find a way to back to his own land, so I let him tag along," Croix replied. Leglius looked at the man. He didn't look like a spy from Sacred Army.

"We'll leave him at Rashek later. He can be a burden to the mission," said Leglius calmly.

00000

Ghost got another call. This time everyone was logged in.

"Ghost, bad news. Leglius's requested to leave you at Rashek because you can be considered a burden because of your below average in fighting." Major Spoiler said.

"What? How can I prevent that?" Ghost asked.

"Well, join in the battle when the ambush comes. This is the only way to prove your worth," Whiskey Pete suggest.

"But it'll change the story!" Major said.

"And Leglius can suspect him as a spy," Added Red.

"But it's the only way…We can't risk Gilbert being left out of the party, " Pete said, "Gilbert, since you're better at shooting, I think you need to take a role that's out of danger but can keep participating in combat."

"Hm…So I become a sniper?" Ghost asked.

"No, you're designated marksman." Pete replied

"What's the difference anyway?"

"It's. Very. Different. Snipers work alone or only in team of two. They are often deployed for specific objectives in teams consisting of snipers and observers. The marksman, however, operates as a regular member within a unit. And…"

**Ten Minutes Later**

"…In short, a designated marksman is a regular infantryman that extends the effective range of a combat squad, while a sniper is deployed to gather information and eliminate specific targets. Understand?" Whiskey Pete finally stopped.

"Em…Sort of…" say confused Ghost. Then he noticed that Cloche suddenly fell. "Eh! What happened?"

"Don't worry, just her life extending agent has expired." Red said to Ghost. "I'll explain this later, now you better go for a while." Ghost calmed down and went with Cocona.

Not long later, Cocona collapsed too. Ghost grab her before she fall down, and let her sit. He tried to ask what happened.

"Cocona, are you okay?" Ghost talk to his PDA and show it to Cocona. She then said something. He looked at his PDA.

"I'm fine. I just felt so tired all of a sudden."

Luca then came at their location. Ghost look at his PDA. Luca ask Cocona what's wrong. Cocona then said that she just got tired. She asked what was wrong with Luca.

00000

"Oh, um, you were missing, so I got worried and came looking for you." Luca replied to her.

"Oh… I'm sorry I made you worry." Cocona apologized.

"I'm glad we found you! Hehehe."

"I heard stories from Cro, but you really are nice…"

"Huh? Uh, thanks…" Then Leglius come to them. He searched for Luca.

"There you are. Don't wander off. There are monsters in the area." Leglius said, "Let's go back."

"Oh, yes sir. Sorry. Cocona, can you walk?" Luca asked.

"Yup, I'm okay…" Gilbert seemed uneasy though.

00000

"Ghost, now! You go deeper inside the woods."

Ghost nodded and silently go while Cocona, Luca, and Leglius looked at the Sacred Knights and Reyvateils. No one seemed to notice him. Gilbert looked at them as the party fought the Sacred Army's squad. They fight fiercely, but were quickly overrun by reinforcements.

"Okay Ghost. Remember what we learned before. Relax, aim at the enemy, and fire Try to pick those pesky Reyvateils first," Whiskey Pete said, guiding him. "I want to ask you about winds, humidity and others first, but just shoot at those enemies, okay?"

Ghost is going to duck and aim at these enemies. This is first time he would kill a human, but reminded himself that if he doesn't kill those, he'll left in Rashek.

00000

"Damn it… Reinforcements!" Croix said.

"Crap. This isn't Pastalia and the Grand Bell Hall. This is their home." Leglius added.

A Sacred Army's Knight yells at them, "Shut up and surrender!"

"Never! I will protect Lady Cloche, no matter what happens!" Croix yelled back at him.

"Have it your-" Said a Sacred Army's Knight, before he was was cut off mid-sentence by a gunshot heard from the forest. He fell, dead.

"Ambush!" yelled a Sacred Reyvateil.

Another gunshot can be heard. She then took shot to the heart, killing her. It panicked those who were still alive. Croix and Leglius took this as a chance and attacked Sacred Army's squad.

"Damn! Retreat!" Finally they retreated, but another gunshot heard and hit a Sacred Reyvateil's leg, making her instantly down, but still alive. She left behind by her teammates.

"We're really lucky that someone helped us…"Croix said.

"But who?" Cocona asked.

That question was answered as Gilbert came out from the forest, aimed the mechanical spear to the reyvateil and then shot the downed reyvateil in the head. He then looked at the surprised party and got closer to them, said something to his device, and let someone read it. Cocona read the text.

"Are you all okay?" Cocona reads. "Yeah, we're all fine, thanks to you. Where did you learn how to shoot like that? "

Gilbert looks at his PDA, spoke into it and let her read his reply.

"I just found out that my shooting skill is much better when I am out of combat and aim. Maybe I'll help you all in battle in this way next time."

"I never thought about that before. They lose effectiveness when someone flanks them," Leglius said. He thought, 'This man is now proving himself useful in combat. He may be a spy, especially with those calls to his friends. Maybe he is contacting someone from the Sacred Army. This man is so mysterious to me.'

The foreigner suddenly showed a text to Leglius. He proceeded to read it.

"Please don't leave me at Rashek, I won't be a burden to you all. I just want to find a way to go back to my land," Leglius reads.

"How did you know tha-ah. Forget it. Croix, it's your choice."

Cocona look at her brother very anxiously. Others also looked at Croix.

"I'll let him go with us then."

Leglius just let out a sigh. "I remember when we used to have standards…"

00000

Ghost get another call. It's from the team again.

"Congrats, Ghost. Leglius now let you go with the party," Major congratulate him.

"Yeah…But I somehow don't feel too happy. I mean, this is first time I killed someone with my own hands…" Ghost said while look at the bodies at the people that he had killed. Their faces are haunting him, especially the one that he shot in the head. Their looks are…not pretty to said at least. "It's easier to kill if they were only a data…"

"Ghost, shrug it off. Remember, this is only the start of the game. You'll kill many more human enemies later. Don't let this get to you," Major said to him.

Ghost was thinking about it. Major was right. This is an RPG, kill or be killed

"Now, search their bodies for money and other items that can be sold. They already dead, they won't need it again."

Ghost carefully searched their bodies. He found some money. He also took their weapons and armor to be melted into a new weapon later. Finally, at the last body, he found a photo in the body of a dead Reyvateil, she and a man hugging each other. Ghost noticed something, then he look at another body, and then realized that he killed that Reyvateil and her boyfriend.

'Poor people…' Ghost then tried hard to shake off the guilt. He must have no hard feelings, no mercy, no emotion for their enemies, or he will be the one that was killed. He then followed Croix back to Luca's house.

"Remember Ghost…It's they who will die…or you," Major said before ending his connection.


	6. Chapter 6

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 6 = New Shoes

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**15****.00 Luca's House**

Ghost sat upstairs in Luca's house, recalling what had happened in the past hour. On the way back, they discovered a girl and her…animal. He didn't know what kind of species the creature with her was.

She had brown skin and long purple hair that was tied rather neatly, with a large, weird ornament in it that looked like a ring. He could see some tattoos on her arms and forehead. To his mind, she was the standard RPG heroine with revealing clothes and a very nice looking body.

Her animal came to the party and guided them to her. When she was found, she was hungry, reminding him of his own condition when he was first discovered by Croix and the others. Cocona gave her some emergency rations, she quickly ate them and recovered.

00000

FLASHBACK

"Why were you lying here?" Luca asked her.

"Oh, I traveled for three days without food or water and then, I passed out…" The girl explained.

'She's tough, I bet she could survive for three days without any food or water. I don't know if I could, though...'

"Hmm, what is your name?" Lady Cloche asked to the mysterious girl.

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Amarie, and this is Soope. He's not really useful, but he makes a great pillow…" The pet didn't seem to like her introduction though.

"Puli puli pu!" Soope said. It sounded angry.

"F-fine, fine! I'm sorry." Amarie apologized. Gilbert was not really surprised that it understand their language. It was RPG world after all.

"…He's… kind of cute." Lady Cloche said slowly.

"Really cute! I've never seen an animal like this!" Luca added.

END FLASHBACK

00000

She then asked the party to take her with them, because she didn't have money or a place to stay. Luca offered her to stay at her place, which is she gladly agreed to. She added that that she would do her best to help her, followed by Leglius grumbling about how many people were now in the party.

When they reached Luca's house, Reisha and Leglius seemed surprised when they saw each other. Luca instantly went upstairs. Cocona also suggested that they go to upstairs, since Leglius and Reisha obviously wanted to talk about something. And here he was, keeping up his Japanese lessons with Cocona.

00000

Cocona looked at Gilbert, his focus seemed to vanish. She tried to get his attention.

"Hey, Gilbert!" She shook him to wake him up from whatever he daydreaming about. Gilbert was startled. "What's wrong with you?"

Gilbert looked at his PDA, then try to say something directly to Cocona. "Sorry. I. Think. Past. Event."

Cocona was surprised. He really did learn fast. Yesterday he really couldn't speak or understand their language. Now he was able to speak in sentences, although he said it word per word. The important thing was he could now say something that she understood. She thought that Gilbert was trying to practice his speaking skill by talking to her directly.

"Wow, you DID learn fast! What's problem with past anyways?" Cocona asked him. Gilbert looked at his PDA and tried to say something again. He still needed to look at his PDA to understand what she said, though. That told her that his hearing skills was not as good as his speaking.

"Nothing. Problem. Just. Notice. She. Alike. Me. When. You. Find. Me. First." Gilbert tried hard to find right word.

"Amarie looks alike of you when we find you for the first time?" Cocona try to confirm what Gilbert was trying to say. Gilbert looking at his PDA and gave her a nod. "Well, she is…Since you and she found in nearly exactly same situation, hungry and lost. It's a relief that we found you both, right?" Gilbert looked at his PDA and nodded to Cocona again. "And you both are good at shooting. Hmmm…You both are sure look alike." Gilbert once again looked at his PDA and agreed.

"Gilbert, may I ask you something?" Cocona ask him. Gilbert looked at his PDA and gave her a nod. "Why do you don't wear any footgear? Is it a custom in your homeland?"

Gilbert looked at his PDA again, and laughed. After some time he said something at his PDA and let her to read it.

"No Cocona, in our homeland we still wearing footgear. It just when I ended up in this land I was happen not to wear any." Cocona give him a nod, signaling him that she's understood. He then said something again and the PDA comes out a new writing. "Maybe I should buy some later; my feet hurt from walking barefoot."

"Why don't you go to sundries near here? It should be selling any footgear that fits you. You got some money, right?" He then reached into his pocket and pulled out all the money that he salvaged from dead enemies. Cocona counted it. "Well, this is more than we need to buy footgear for you! What do you going to do with the rest of the money?"

Gilbert looks at his PDA and tried to say something directly to Cocona again. "I. Will. Make. New. Weapon. Fits. Me."

Cocona try to confirm what he trying to say. "You're gonna use the money to make a new weapon that fits you?" Gilbert looks at his PDA and nodded. "What's wrong with the one you've got?" He read the new text on his PDA and replied to Cocona using his PDA again.

"First, I can't use the same weapon as your brother continuously. It's too big for me. Second, I need a new weapon that fits with my fighting style, since I'm not too good at close range. I'll let somebody else protect Luca and Lady Cloche when in battle, but when the situation gets to be where there's nobody to protect them, that's when I'll join into the battle directly."

Cocona understood. She remembered when Gilbert helped them fighting monsters when they still walked to Luca's House. He got hurt a lot because of his low speed and having a hard time stabbing the monsters and protecting Luca at the same time when they got close.

"What kind of weapon are you going to make? Will it be different than the weapons in this land?" Gilbert looks at his PDA, shrugged and said something. Cocona looked at his PDA.

"I don't know. I have poor knowledge of weapons. I'll let my friends guide me in making weapons. They know what's best for me." Cocona wanted to ask something again, but Gilbert was already speaking. Cocona looked at his PDA again.

"Now can we go to sundries? I'll talk about my land later."

"Of course! Let's go then, I'll choose the one that fits you!" Cocona said cheerily. They then got up and went to the sundries, not too far from Luca's house.

**15.11 Sundries**

Gilbert stood beside Cocona while she picked good footwear for him. He let her choose because she was able to talk to the shopkeeper better than him. He already told her to pick something not too pricey, because he would need the money to make a new weapon. Not long after, she said something while give him a pair of brown shoes.

'Not bad, as long as it can protect my feet when walking,' Gilbert thought. He put the shoes on, which fit nicely.

"Ah, it fits very nicely, Gilbert! You look good with that." Cocona said. She then paid using Gilbert's money, and gave him the change. Gilbert counted the money, hoping there was still some money that can be used to make new weapons.

"Let's go back Gilbert." Cocona said to him. He put the rest of the money into his pocket. They walked back to Luca's house. Gilbert looked comfortable in those new shoes.

00000

**15:30 Luca's House**

Ghost looked at Reisha, he knew something had happened, but did not dare ask what it was. He uses his PDA and contacted the support team.

"Ah, Ghost, good timing, I was about to contact you," Major Spoiler greeted him.

"Well, what happened to Luca's mom? She seems to have just encountered something bad." Ghost asked.

"Well, you see…" Hax proceeded to tell Ghost what just happened. Luca heard that she is not a real child of Reisha, and Luca misunderstood Reisha and hated her because of this.

"You know, this is considered a spoiler…" Red tells to Hax, but he proceeds to defend himself.

"It's not a spoiler when the event is already done, Red. Hey Major, will we make him follow Luca or just wait and follow Croix to bring her back?" Hax proceeded to ask Major. He thought a while, and then he made a decision.

"Better if he follows Croix." Major finally answered. "We don't know what'll happen to Luca and Amarie on the way to the ruins. He'll be safe with Croix. Besides, we'll try to make Ghost go unnoticed by Chester. The lower his profile to other people than the party, the less change in the story."

"Who is Chester?" Ghost asked.

"You'll know when the time comes. Remember, you the one who don't want to be spoiled. Although it'll be much simpler if we just tell you everything about the story…" Major told Ghost.

"I see. Is there any more information that you can give to me?" Ghost asked.

"The ruin is on a city called Etna. If I still remembered, you and the party will go to there using the train. The monsters are not too strong, and there are some IPDs there. How Luca and Amarie can go past them is anybody guess, though. Try to hide at somewhere when the party find Amarie and Luca, especially from the white haired man." Pete tells him.

"Will the party fight with this white haired guy later?" Ghost asked.

"No." Major gives a short answer to him. "You better now continue your language course with Cocona, nothing big will happen for now."

"Hey, can you help Cocona teach me Japanese Major? It'll help if you're also involved." Ghost asked him.

"Nah, I was good at Japanese, but I'm not a good teacher. Just believe it." Major refused.

"Okay, okay…" Ghost then put his PDA back to his pocket and continued his Japanese lessons with Cocona.

Meanwhile, back at the support team…

"Red, open your laptop. I want a rematch for yesterday's game," Major told her.

"C'mon, I already beat you 100-78 in 1vs1 deathmatch! Just accept that you can't beat me on Ultra-Real Tournament!" Red said.

"Never!" Major say while plugging his LAN cable to her laptop. Red just sighed and accept the duel again. Hax took his toolbox go to Ghost's PS2.

"You gonna research that PS2?" Whiskey Pete asked him.

"Yeah. It's a wonder how this thing got struck by lightning and still works…and send people to Metafalss. Want to help?"

"Sure." Pete said and sat beside Hax. He wondered if this would take long…

END OF CHAPTER 6


	7. Chapter 7

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 7 = Search for Luca and Amarie

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**09****.00 Luca's House**

Something had happened: Luca had gone to Etna Ruins, and Amarie went with her. This made Luca's mom, Reisha, very worried. Luca left a letter to let them know that they were gone.

"What should I do…" Reisha said with a very confused expression.

"What's the matter?" Croix asked.

Reisha told him what had happened, while Cocona told Gilbert. He tried his best to look naturally surprised by this event. He, of course, had been told the previous day about what now happened, but the party did not. To his mind, it was better if the others kept it that way.

"The Enna Palace Ruins...! By herself?" Croix said, surprised.

"That girl, Amarie went with her," Leglius informed Croix.

"I gotta go after her." Croix said, but he was stopped by Leglius's yell.

"Have you forgotten your current mission! Our top priority is to protect Lady Cloche. The situation's critical. Now's not the time to be selfish."

"...Yes sir. I'm sorry..." Croix said, disappointed. His duty was the top priority.

"Croix, Leglius, let's go find Luca," Lady Cloche spoke, followed by surprised reaction from Legius and Croix. She proceeded to explain how Luca was an integral part of the group, and as a Holy Maiden she cannot abandon her now. Leglius finally allowed the party to start searching for her. Reisha begged to search too, but Leglius said no, because if something happened to the older woman, he wouldn't know how to explain it to Luca. Also, Leglius was certain that Luca was very confused, and won't respond well if Reisha also went with them. She understood, and agreed to stay behind.

00000

**10.00 On the Train to Etna**

Ghost sat on the seat inside the train. It was like the train in his world, with no real difference. He thought about how big the ruins could possibly be, wondering where he could find hiding places for when the party would meet the white haired man, how he was going to flank the monsters since ruins has very few such places, and many other such things. While he was thinking, his PDA beeped. Immediately, he take his device from his pocket and looked at it. The call was from the support team.

"Ghost here. I'm now on the train to Etna, trying to bring Luca back."

"I can see that," Hax replied. "Just to inform you, yesterday, Pete and I went researching your PS2, and we found something interesting. First we tried to unplug the power. Guess what, it's still running. It seems that your PS2 now has another power source."

"Wait, are you trying to say now my PS2 is self powered from the lightning strike?" asked Ghost.

"Sounds crazy, eh? You won't believe until you see it." Hax said while he pointed the webcam to the unplugged, yet functioning, game console machine. "I'm still researching where it's power source is. Another thing that I learned is when I opened the disk tray, it's still running the game normally. When I tried to restart it, there was no response. It's like the PS2's…"

"No longer a game machine." Ghost guessed what the rest of Hax's sentence would be.

"Yeah. It keeps tracking you in the world, though. Thanks to it, we can keep an eye for you here. That's all for now. I'll inform you if I find something new," Hax informed him, "Major will be assisting you when you arrive at Etna Ruins. He's still sulking about his defeat yesterday."

"Let me guess…He wanted a rematch with Red, and lost again?"

"Bingo. He really can't accept his losing to her. I wonder why…"

"Well, better leave him at that. Ghost out." He then put his PDA back into his pocket,

00000

**11.00 Etna**

The party had finally arrived. Gilbert looked around at the town around him. It looked like it had oriental styled buildings. Croix said to him that this was the oldest town in the Metafalss. The party decided to try to go unnoticed, since Etna was also where the Sacred Army's Headquarters was placed. To reach the ruins itself they would have to pass through the town.

In the middle of the town, there was a big building which the others explained was the Sacred Army's headquarters.

While in the city, the party found a pharmacy. Croix decided to visit the pharmacy to restock some of their healing potions.

00000

Ghost got another call. It was from the support team again.

"Ghost, I see you have reach Etna. Let me talk to Spica, Pete said that we need to buy something for your weapon," Major said quickly to him.

"Who is Spica?" Ghost asked.

"The Pharmacist. She has white hair."

"Okay, I'll let Croix know that."

The party then went inside the pharmacy. Ghost looked at the white haired woman, she had nice looking body. He started to wonder if there were _any_ woman in this world that didn't have nice looking body. It's JRPG after all. He looked at the pharmacist again. She was wearing blue-ish suit, a hat, and a pair of glasses. She looked friendly, and seemed to enjoy talking to Croix.

00000

Croix felt uneasy when talking to the pharmacist, because she was constantly teasing him. Gilbert called him and gave his device to the knight after he done talking. The man on the device proceeds to talk to him.

"Hello Croix, sorry for bothering you, but we need to buy something for Gilbert here. It's for his future weapon. We'll use the money that Gilbert has, so you don't need to worry about using your own funds," Billy said to him.

"Wait, why did you use 'we'?" Croix asked.

"Ah, I just remembered that you haven't met the rest of us," Billy said to him. He proceeded to quickly introduce the rest of the support team. "I will tell you more about us later. I don't want to make the lady there wait, okay?"

Croix said, "Alright," and told Spica that one of his party member wanted to buy something from her, and gave her the device.

00000

Ghost only knew some of the words they were saying. He first heard his name spoken and thought that maybe Major was telling her about him. She looked at him for a while, and gave him a friendly smile. Then she handed the PDA back to him, and searching for something.

"Major, what did you tell her?" Ghost asked him.

"Nothing too important, just some friendly talk. Then I asked her if she has some chemical that we need. It's good that she has it," Major replied.

"What are we going to make anyway?"

"Tranquillizer gun. It'll be your most important weapon. First, you can use it on the IPDs so the party can contain them easier. Second, you can use it to knock out any important character without killing them. How the gun works...well ask Pete, he knows much more about it."

"How many did you buy? Did you get a total?"

"I told Spica how much we'll spend on this, and then she told me that we'll get some of the chemicals. Not much, so make sure that you only the gun strictly for the IPDs and important characters. For enemies, Pete said that you must use another gun that uses the same bullets as the mechanical-spear, so you can find the ammo easier. We'll also supply you with an anti-material rifle, for the bosses. You know RPG style when it comes to bosses; big, very strong, etc. You need a bigger weapon for that."

"Errrr…I don't know if I can handle such a gun."

"Learn. Remember, Pete will teach you; just be ready when the time comes."

Spica then came to Ghost, handed him two bottles of the chemical. Ghost gave all of his money to Croix. Spica told him something, gave some of the money to her, and returned the rest of the money to Ghost. Difficult, but he had to since he didn't know the value of the money. She then said thank you to Ghost, and gave her smile again. He smiled back to her. Croix and the party excused themselves and continued walking to Etna Ruins.

00000

After some walking, the party arrived at the Ruins. Gilbert looked throughout the place. It was like a ruin of an old civilization. Some big stones could be used for hiding places to flank the enemies. The problem was, it was also hard to go unnoticed in the battle. Then again, it was better than there being no hiding places. He then thought of something; what will he do if the battle took place indoors or at hallway, where no hiding places could be used? He needed to train his combat capabilities more, so that he still would be doing good, even when he battled the enemy directly.

He also was reminded of something; he was wearing no armor. Wearing only a T-shirt, he would be a dead man if hit by any enemies, shot or damaged from magic. Even a peck from those bird-like monsters earlier had wounded him. Well, he would request a trip to the armory later, just in case they didn't think about it.

Gilbert then called Croix, who walked close to the outlander. Gilbert took out his device, said something, and showed the text on the PDA to Croix.

"I'll go a different path from you, so I can flank the enemies easier. You all go first; I'll follow not far from you, but keep hidden," Croix read it aloud.

"Are you sure? What if suddenly you got attacked?" asked Cocona. Gilbert then spoke something and showed it to her.

"That's why I will keep close to you all, so if something bad happens, someone can help me quickly," she read the text.

"Alright, but make sure you don't lose track with us," Croix said. Gilbert read the text on the PDA, and then noded at the knight. He then parted ways with the party, and they started exploring the ruins.

00000

Ghost got a call; it was the support team again.

"Alright Ghost; I'll assist you in battle. We'll first look at the places that you can use to hide and clear from monsters, and then we'll signal you when it's okay to advance. Stay sharp," Major said, "Okay, now go behind the big rock in front of you. I'll also track the party, so you won't lose them or don't know when they get attacked." Ghost gave a nod and moved silently.

**About Twenty Minutes Later**

Everything is going as planned. Ghost assisted the party in battle very well, giving some fire support to the party whenever they encountered any monsters. Thanks to the support team's guidance in choosing path that he walked, he himself did not encounter any monsters when he walked to hiding places scattered over the ruins, and never got the attention of any of the enemies.

The party was now on the second floor of the ruins. Ghost looked around him. Since the ruins were placed on the hills, the old civilization could easily build many floors here. The purpose of the building was unknown to him though, and the reason why Luca wanted to search here was beyond his knowledge.

At this place, the party also encountered an IPD. Ghost asked the team for advice on how to deal with them.

"Hey, I never battle with an IPD before. Should I shoot them? I'm worried that it may kill the IPD," Ghost asked.

"Well, the forum has some theory about it, though," Red told Ghost, "Reyvateils have barriers that protect them from attacks. Otherwise, why would Croix shoot at them and they don't instantly go down?"

"Because the game will be too easy?" Ghost guessed. Major facepalmed right where he sat.

"That's the developer's reason, not in game reason, but you're right," Red continued.

"If there's a barrier, why I can one hit kill the one that Sacred Army had?" Ghost asked again.

"IPDs are considerably stronger. You flank them, and Croix and the others will try to mow them down. There are levels to how strong it is, it's all in the walkthrough on the forum site," Hax said.

"This is also why you should use the tranquilizer gun when the IPD is already weakened; 9mm won't pierce those barrier," Pete said, "I'll later ask Croix what type of bullet those are that the mechanical spear uses. I hope it's same as one type of bullets in our world, or I'll have to change the weapon schematics so it fits the bullet."

"Alright then." Ghost then looked at the party, ready to assist them again, but the battle was already over, and Croix had contained the IPD.

"Dang, I missed the action."

The party then proceeded to the upper floor. Ghost ready to follow, but stopped by Major.

"Don't. Chester is upstairs. Wait for the party to go down first."

He understood and waited. Not long after, the party came down, along with Luca.

00000

Gilbert quickly came to her. She looked exhausted.

"Do. You. Okay?" He asked.

Luca just gave him a nod. Gilbert thought it would be better not to ask her anymore questions. He looked around and noticed Amarie wasn't there. When Gilbert was just about to ask Croix where the free-spirited woman was, she was already going down the stairs to rejoin the party.

The party went to the inn at Etna, to let her rest for a while…

END OF CHAPTER 7


	8. Chapter 8

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 8 = Our Land

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**15.00 Etna Inn**

Gilbert and the others waited at the first floor of the inn in Etna. They let Luca rest, as she seemed still confused and tired from recent events. Croix checked her upstairs just to make sure she's okay. There was some uncomfortable atmosphere between Amarie and Leglius, as he suspected Amarie had a hidden agenda while bringing Luca to Etna. She denied it by saying that Luca would have gone there anyway and she just came along to protect her.

At the same time, Cocona went back to teaching Gilbert their language. It was still a wonder about how fast he learned, and seemed to remember each word that was given to him. In the middle of their lesson, Croix went back to the first floor, and Lady Cloche went upstairs. He came to Gilbert and Cocona.

"How. About. Luca?" Gilbert asked Croix.

"She was still sleeping," Croix replied. Gilbert looked at his PDA and noded in understanding. Suddenly, there was a beeping sound coming from Gilbert's device. He looked at it, and then talked to the person on it. From the voice Croix knew that it was Billy. Gilbert then gave the device to Croix. It seemed Billy wanted to talk with him.

"Hello Croix," greeted Billy to him. Amarie and Leglius came closer to Croix, interested. "I think its better that we introduced ourselves in more detail. " He proceeded to re-introduce the support team. "We support Gilbert until he gets back to our land. Any questions?"

"Are you the only one that can speak our language?" Croix asked.

"As in the team, yes. Only I can speak your language, because the others are too lazy to learn it. As in our land, no, I'm not the only one that speaks it. It's national language of a country in our land," Billy explained.

"Do you all have other missions other than bring Gilbert back to your land?" Leglius asked.

"Well, we'll conduct some scientific research about your land whatever's possible. Of course, we'll do it without interfering with your journey. Maybe we'll ask Gilbert to do something, but whatever he does I'll make sure that it won't cause harm to you all. This is also part of reasons why he goes with you, we can observe this land. Our top priority is still bringing Gilbert back, though," Billy explained again.

"Where is your land exactly placed?" Leglius asked again.

"About that…Well, the first thing is, our land is not placed in Ar Ciel. We come from another world. You can say that we're alien, just without tentacle things and stuff like that. We're now researching how he ended up on your world, so we can find how to bring him back. Until that time, he'll go with you," Billy told everyone.

"Can you explain more about your world?" Cocona ask.

"Well… There are no Reyvateils, no song magic…The good news is there are no monsters lurking around. The land is still habitable, the atmosphere is still good, no poison in the sea, but not all of it though… I hope that it stays that way, as the people in our world are kind of unaware of their surrounding nature as it's not as good now as it used to be," Billy explained. "So, any more questions?"

"The chemical that you bought earlier, you said that it will be used for his future weapon. What kind of weapon will you make?" Croix asked.

"Tranquillizer gun. It's a gun that in simple words, makes things sleep. I think it'll be useful for later IPD containment. My team has some other weapon schematics for Gilbert that will suit him better in battle, but I'll need your help. Are there any blacksmiths there? Can you help us with this matter?" Billy asked. He knew that there is one, but pretended to not know about it.

"Well, there's one blacksmith that I know," Croix told him, immediately thinking of Cynthia. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks a lot, Croix. Also, can I look at the bullets your weapon uses? Maybe we'll modify the weapon to use your bullets, so we can find ammo easier." Billy asked him.

"Alright, wait a minute." Croix then ejected a bullet out of his magazine, and pointed the device's camera to it a while. "Done?"

Billy talking to Josh in a language that Croix doesn't know then replied to him,"Done. Josh said he'll make some adjustment to the weapon later. Any more questions?" All the others shook their heads.

"I think that's all for now," Croix said. After that, Luca and Cloche came downstairs.

"Luca! Are you okay!" Croix asked her.

"Yup, I'm fine now. I'm sorry I made you worry..."

"No, it's alright, as long as you're okay."

"Thank you. You're so nice...I love you." Luca said to Croix. Gilbert looked at what they said and thought, 'This will be another typical love interest for RPG protagonist: Childhood friend.'

"Well, not that you're all better, let's get going!" Cloche said quickly. 'Tsundere', Gilbert thought while sighing mentally.

"Oh? Is that the sweet scent of jealousy I smell?" Amarie sarcastically said. Gilbert thought, 'If Amarie posted that on the forum, I would have posted an 'awesome' face with the message 'ROFL LOL so true 111one11one' '. The party went back to the train station.

On the way back they saw that there was a crowd of people in the market row. There were two people standing in the center of the market. Croix seemed to know the man. Gilbert listened to what he said with Cocona. The man beside Chester was Croix's fencing friend, Targana. Gilbert mentally took notes on the man, since he seemed like another important character that must not be killed. They continued on their way.

**16.00 Inside the Train**

Gilbert continued the lectures about the world's language from Cocona. He thought that never had he studied a language as intensive as this, but now Cocona said that his progress was outstanding. Well, he wasn't really interested in studying other languages back in the school.

After think a while, he then corrected himself, he wasn't really interested study _anything _at all back at school. Before a test he never re-read the material that would be gone over. He never got the passion to compete in school. When he passes his tests, whatever the score was, it was good enough for him.

Maybe this was the reason why he didn't pass the test at that top university; he didn't have the desire to go there. His family recommended him to go there, so he did it. Maybe if he actually studied before, he could go to that top university. He went to the college after that because his friends were there too, so he followed them.

He rethought everything; maybe he was actually smarter that he thought, but he was just too lazy. He didn't have a long term goal, just following the stream. Maybe if he set a goal, he would improve his life more. But, where should he set his goal after he goes back to his own world? He then thought that he'll think about that later, now his goal is go back there.

He then was suddenly knocked in the forehead lightly by Cocona. He was startled for a bit, and then saw her. She said something. Gilbert looked at his device.

"Gilbert! You're spacing out again. What's wrong with you?" Oh yeah right, he was thinking about all this when Cocona teaching him, she must be pissed off now.

"Sorry. I. Think. About. Something. Not. Too. Important." Cocona just took a long breath, and then said something again.

"Do you always space out like this?" Gilbert then said something, and showed his device to Cocona.

"Sometimes. When I realize something I immediately think about it, because I tend to forget about the idea after a few minutes if I don't think about it right then." After that the train stopped at Rashek, and Luca went outside to the town. Gilbert come to Croix to ask what happened.

"Luca said she'll need to do something over there. She already promised to me that she'll go back to her house after this," Croix replied to him. He gave a nod, signaling that he understood. He sat back beside Cocona to study again.

**17****.00 Luca's House**

The party finally reached Luca's house. Croix brought the good news to Reisha. She seemed very glad with that. Gilbert and Cocona went to upstairs, but Cloche stayed to have a talk with Reisha. Gilbert thought, 'What does she want to talk with her about? Maybe they're talking about Luca?' But then he decided to forget it and focused on his language course.

Time passed as words stuck into Gilbert's brain Cocona found a new problem: he can speak and hear many words and understand them, but can't read or write them. His language used different characters. Also, she hadn't taught Gilbert how to connect these words into a correct sentence. He still spoke the words separately into a sentence when speaking. This would take a while...

While she was still teaching Gilbert, they heard someone yelling on the bottom floor. It was Luca's voice. They decided to check it out. When they went downstairs, Luca had already run outside. Lady Cloche order Croix to stay put, and then she went after her.

"What. Happen?" Gilbert asked him.

"Luca. She still thinks that Ms. Reisha doesn't want her," Gilbert nodded in understanding. Croix noticed something different. He wasn't looking at his device. Gilbert was trying his best to understand what everyone was saying without looking at his PDA. He understood some of the words that Croix said.

They then waited for the two girls to come back. Not long afterwards, they both returned, but Cloche was unconscious. Luca let her rest in the bedroom.

"We just gave her the life extending agent. This is too soon," said Leglius.

"Could it be some other illness?" Croix tried to guess.

"It's probably..." Leglius said under his breath. Croix let out a 'huh' and looked at him.

" Oh, nothing." Leglius quickly said. "This may be risky, but I'm going to try to contact the Grand Bell Hall. We can't help her, and I won't risk her life to save ours. Wait here," He continued, and then went outside.

"Luca, what happened? Did you do something?" Croix asked her.

"I didn't do anything." Luca said, "Why does everyone take her side?"

"I'm not taking sides," Croix defended himself. Gilbert thinks Croix was right; it's his job to protect Lady Cloche. Luca let herself calm down for a while.

"Sorry, that was mean. I know you're just doing your job," She apologized. The party rested while Leglius was gone.

**08.00 Luca's House**

All the party waited anxiously for Leglius. Gilbert wondered what the support team was doing, since there were no calls from them since Etna Inn. He wasn't contacting them either, since nothing major happened. Finally, Leglius comes back, with bad news.

"So I contacted them. The Sacred Army attacked the Grand Bell. It's been a tough fight. Both the Grand Bell and Rakshek airports are under their control. Our only choice is to march across the Ironplate Desert," Leglius explained the situation.

"The Ironplate Desert! But that's-" Croix said. From what he was saying Gilbert could tell it wasn't a good place.

"You're right. It's just above the Great Wheel, between us and Pastalia, and without access to airships, we'll have to walk," Leglius said. He then continued, saying that the party must travel through a maze of stairs.

Gilbert was puzzled a bit by this. 'Stairs in the desert?' He then reminds himself, 'This is an RPG; expect bizarre structure and weird environments ahead.' Gilbert looked at Cocona, she seemed to not be healthy.

"Cocona? Are you alright?" Croix asked her.

"Yup... I'm just a little tired. But, I'll be fine!" She said energetically.

"Are you sure? If you're not feeling well, you can stay here," Croix said. He worries about Cocona a lot, it seemed.

"Oh no, I'm going with you. Don't worry, I'm alright."

Croix then looks at Luca; she seemed to want to say something. Croix then let her talk. She then proceeded to ask Croix to take her with him. He replied that this will not as easy as before, but she insisted. Croix gave up and asked Leglius, who said that he won't stop Luca, but can't guarantee her safety. Leglius then continued to tell her that if she was okay with that, then welcome aboard.

Luca was happy to hear this, but not her mother. Reisha was very worried about her safety. She tries to hold Luca back by said she was grounded, which backfired. After some heated debate, Luca went out. Croix then said to Reisha that he promised to bring Luca back, and then the party also left. After hearing all this, Gilbert just shook his head, then wondered what Ironplate Desert looked like…

END OF CHAPTER 8


	9. Chapter 9

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 8 = Containment

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

Author Note: Thanks for the reviews! I'll try to keep all the chapters enjoyable to you folks!

**09****.00 Ironplate Desert**

Gilbert looked at the Ironplate Desert. He sighed because it was far from his imagination.

'I thought it'll be like a desert in real life…RPG architect…'

He signaled Croix that he would go covert. Croix understood and nodded at him, then Gilbert ran behind some steel boxes.

'Since there is no contact from support team, it'll be harder to spot enemies nearby.'

Before entering Ironplate Desert, he already tried to contact the team, but all of them were offline. He wondered what had happened to them…

**10.00 Ironplate Desert**

Gilbert looked at Cocona from afar. The party had rested two times now, because Cocona didn't look good. Croix asked if she was fine, but Cocona always said that she was. Not long after then, the party continued their journey. Gilbert followed them, but he suddenly felt sudden pain from his back. He let out a scream and did his best to quickly turn around. When he did, he found the cause. Not one monster, but TWO somehow attacked him from behind.

'Argh! It's supposed to be ME that flanks the monsters, not the other way around!' Gilbert thought.

One of the monsters looked like a blob of slime, similar to the one back on Mint Forest, but the one here was metal colored. The other one was look kind of weird; it had two feet and carried a piece of wood on its tail. The metal blob monster lunged at Gilbert. He tried to block the attack with the shield, but the monster got him down. He held off its attack while the other slammed him viciously with the piece of wood.

Suddenly an arrow came from behind and grazed the slime's body, making it flinch.

Gilbert looked and saw where the arrow came from.

'It's Amarie!'

She fired again and this time the arrow hit the enemy. Gilbert took his chance; he activated the rocket engine of the spear, and stabbed the wood-wielding animal. The young man and the monster were thrown to the metal wall. He then proceed to stab the monster over and over again. Luca finished off the other monster with her song magic, ending the battle.

The party came to Gilbert, which now stood on a decapitated monster corpse. Luca looked at his back. The clothing there was torn and blood was oozing out from the starch wound, and she could also see wood splinters. She quickly cast her healing song magic on Gilbert, and his wounds started to regenerate.

"Thanks Luca, Amarie," Gilbert said

"Wow, it seems bad." Amarie exclaimed while looking at his back. "I think you'll need another set of clothes, the one you're wearing doesn't look so good anymore."

Gilbert touched the cloth on his back carefully, not wanting to touch his regenerating wound. Amarie was right, he felt his clothes were torn badly.

"Don't worry, Croix will buy one for you, right?" Cocona exclaimed while she looked at her brother.

"Why me…"Croix said as he let out a sigh.

"You better find something better as armor, or you wouldn't last long in the next battle," Leglius said.

"Do. Not. Worry. Me. Sure. My. Team. Have. Plan. About. This," Gilbert replied to Leglius. He then looks at Croix. "By. The. Way. Where. I. Can. Make. Some. Weapon?" He asked.

"Well, there is a blacksmith in Pastalia. Her name is Cynthia." Croix replied, "She's the one who makes all the weapons for Grand Bell Army. I think she can help make one for you."

"She's funny and nice! You'll like her!" Cocona added. Gilbert remembers the early scene in the game, Croix did not like her too much because she was attracted to Croix. Then again, she was also nice. Gilbert then felt that his wound was gone.

"Thanks. Once. Again. Luca." Gilbert said. Luca gave him a smile.

"Be careful next time, okay?" she said. Gilbert nodded at her. The party then continued the journey…

**11.00 Ironplate Desert**

The party met a dead end after walking for some time. Again, Cocona wasn't looking very well. Croix decided to call a break, again. This was the fourth time the party rested. Gilbert came closer to the party, and looked at Cocona. She always said that she was fine, but...

"Again! How many times have we rested now?" Amarie complained.

"Four. Times." Gilbert informed her.

"That's not what I mean…" Amarie said while shaking her head, and then looked at Croix.

"Sorry, but Cocona's not feeling well." Croix said.

'Well, he's Cocona's brother, so I understand his worries about her.'

"Anyway, how long are you gonna tag along with us?" Leglius asked.

Amarie and Gilbert looked at him.

"Huh? Me?" Amarie and Gilbert said at the same time.

"I'm talking to Amarie." Leglius said, "No matter how long you're with us, I won't let you into the Grand Bell."

Gilbert was glad that he didn't follow Luca to Etna. Otherwise, Leglius would have been suspicious of him too.

"You're so paranoid, geez. I bet that stubbornness is the reason you're still not married." Amarie complained and added some spicy insult at him. Gilbert almost laughed at her last sentence, but kept quiet because he had a feeling Leglius would not have appreciated the joke.

"Amarie, don't say that!" Luca told her, "Mr. Leglius, I want Amarie to stay. She really helped me out at Enna Palace." She begged him. Soope seemed to also support Luca.

"...Do as you like." Leglius gave in, but also said to Amarie in a tone she could not mistake, "But I'm warning you, do anything strange and I'll finish you then and there."

"...C-Cro?" Cocona said weakly. She definitely did not look good.

"Cocona! What's wrong?" Croix instantly looked at her. Suddenly her eyes went blank. She looked…different.

"Sad…Scared…Hate…" She muttered.

'Oh. No.'

Now Cocona was just like the IPD that the party contained. It seemed Cocona had caught the disease. Gilbert wondered if the disease was like a zombie virus in many fiction works. Croix insisted on protecting Cocona. Gilbert along with the others stood back.

Not long after, an airship came. Some knights and Reyvateils came down. They seemed a little bit surprised when they saw Leglius and Croix. The older man yelled at Croix to back away, but he refused, insisting that he would protect Cocona. Because of this, Croix was beaten down by the knights. Amarie ran up to Croix, getting in front of him after he was knocked out.

"Stop! If we fight any more, Croix really will die!" she yelled.

One knight took Croix to the airship, and the other knights and Reyvateils proceed to defeat Cocona, and contained her.

"I.P.D. infected body contained. Mission complete!" A knight reported to Leglius.

"Good job. How's Croix?"

"He woke up during medical treatment, but didn't seem to be aggressive."

"I see..." Leglius said, then looked at the party. "Alright, everyone aboard. Let's return to the Grand Bell Hall." They went on board the airship.

**11.30 Airship**

Gilbert looked at Pastalia from the airship. It was prettier than the image at the destination selection. Now he tried to summarize what happened so that he would be able to decide what to do next.

First, Cocona was now contained. He felt very sad, since she was teaching him all the time when possible. Gilbert also thought Croix must be very depressed now as well. Maybe he will need to go to Croix and say something…

Second, there was still no contact from support team. He would arrive at Grand Bell shortly, and Croix would bring him to Cynthia to synthesize weapons and armors. They better contact him soo…

Suddenly Gilbert's PDA began beeping. Gilbert knew the tone; a new E-mail had arrived. He checked it; the mail was from Billy.

"Major here. Sorry we couldn't contact you, the forum suggested that we should use another video chat program. Many people on the forum want to see you live, and they can't wait for our report. This new program can make other people see our chat too, and not just 5 way chat like we used before."

Gilbert wondered how famous he is now in the forum, since not all people believe him.

"Also, the program enables the person seeing the chat room to also use text. This way we can get more support from someone specialized in their field; for example, synthesizing later on. Maybe we can get help from someone who works at gun shop, or in the Army, or a scientist to assist you in making equipment. Believe me; you can find these persons at the forum. Once installed, search the chat room with our forum as the title."

Gilbert now wondered if there were any expert scientists who still played video games, or soldiers. The forum never ceased to surprise him.

"The files are attached in this E-Mail, you just download it, and the program will install. Oh, about Cocona, if this can make you feel better, she'll join will you later."

Gilbert was glad to read that she'll be back, but kind of unhappy since Major Spoiler has spoiled the surprise to him.

"You'll be heading to Grand Bell Hall to suppress some attacks. Let Croix do the work, since it's kind of impossible to keep hidden with many enemies roaming around unless your name is MacMillan. Damn, this making me wants to synthesize a stealth suit for you, but with current technology, it's kind of hard since your battlefield keep changing along with the journey, and changing suit color and facepaint every time you enter a new area will take too much effort. Maybe I can study First and Second Era technology later and… oh wait, this mail becoming too long. Remember, keep yourself alive. We are watching you here."

After reading the lengthy e-mail, Gilbert then began the download of the attachment files, and put his PDA back to his pocket. This would take some time to download and install…

He also wondered what this 'First Era and Second Era technology' that Billy talked about. Did he mean this world has gone through some more advanced ages than now? He thought that he would give it some more thought later, now wanted to talk with Croix. He saw Luca arrive on the deck. He then went to her and asked her where he was at.

"He just woke up, still sad about Cocona. Amarie should be talking to him now." She then proceeded to tell him where Croix was. Gilbert thanked her then walked towards the room. On the way, he met up with Amarie.

"Hey Gilbert! You want to see Croix too?" She greeted. Gilbert gave her a nod.

"Well, he should be still in the room. Don't expect something good, though."

He then entered the room. Croix was standing now, seemingly lost in thought.

"Croix." Gilbert called. The knight looked at him.

"Sorry. Me. Can't. Do. Something. About. Cocona."

Croix took a breath, and sighed a bit.

"No, you don't need to say sorry. It's just that…" The room was feeling uncomfortable with the silence. "Please don't talk about this anymore…"

It seemed he is now able to think clearly again. Croix then started to walk out of the room. "I'll report to Leglius, you better join up with the others at the top. We should be arrived at Grand Bell shortly."

Gilbert noded and went onto the airship deck.

**12.00 Grand Bell**** Hall**

The party got a quick briefing about what they needed to do now. They would rush into the palace to secure Chancellor Alfman from the Divine Messenger. The party quickly went to the imperial throne room. Some bodies of Grand Bell's knights was scattered of the floor. The party leaped into the battle directly with the Divine Messenger.

It looked like a wolf, and there were some Sacred Army knights that guarded him. Gilbert just gave a small amount of combat support, since most of the battle was done by Croix and the others.

Outnumbered, the wolf got into a heated argument with Alfman, then he and Sacred Army knights retreated. Gilbert wondered why this Divine Messenger don't just retreat without going into an argument with him.

Alfman ordered the knights to chase the enemies, but was countermanded by Leglius, who said that there was no need to chase them. Alfman grumbled and said for Leglius to do whatever he wanted.

The party was gathered at Imperial Throne room. Alfman talked to Leglius. Gilbert used this time to look at the new people.

First he looks at Chancellor Alfman. One thing that he noticed first was his hair. a part of it made a circle at the top of his head giving it the appearance of an angel halo. He wondered what hair gel that he used to make that hairstyle He then tried to translate his looks into words that can store to his brain; he had black hair, wore a big jacket, good outfit… Nothing really special except his gravity-defying hair.

He then looked at the long nosed old man. The old man wore a purple suit, had white hair only on the sides of his head that continued to his beard, and on the top of his head a green gem was attached.

'Now this is weird; how can he attach that thing to his head? RPG Style…' Gilbert thought.

He then looked at the robot behind him.

'Wait, a robot?' Gilbert thought.

The robot was bulky, was colored black, and had a trumpet attached at its back. He wondered if he would fight one later, since he would have a anti-materiel rifle in the future. After some talk the party left the room.

**12.30 Grand Bell Hall**

Gilbert, Amarie, and Leglius waited in the hall. Croix and Luca were called up to Cloche's room. Amarie was watched by Leglius, and Gilbert just sat there since he need Croix to show him where Cynthia was. As he waited, his PDA started beeping. The new application was installed. He immediately opened it. He went to the chat room that Billy gave earlier. The support team was online…Along with 57 anonymous users that saw this chat room.

"WOOT. IT'S HIM!" one of the anonymous people immediately shouted.

"Welcome Ghost. We have been waiting for you," Major said.

END OF CHAPTER 9


	10. Chapter 10

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 10 = Modern Warfare

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**12.35 Grand Bell Hall**

"Ghost reporting. I see this chat room is a bit…crowded," Ghost said after seeing how many people looked at the chat room.

"Yeah. We also established a camera to the TV so they can see you all the time," Hax added.

"Kind of spooky that all people can see my every move…" Ghost said.

"Well, just think that you are now in a reality TV show," Red tried to make him a bit relax. "Except you can die anytime, and no actual camera that follows your actions, and…Oh well, just relax, okay?"

"Well…Thanks," Gilbert said and smiling.

"Dude, when will you open that PS2? We want to see inside of that," One of the anonymous commented.

"I want, but I'm also afraid of doing something to the PS2. We might can break it and that would make us lose connection to Gilbert," Hax responded, "Maybe we'll do it when I have sufficient tools."

"Hey, you already bring so many tools in your toolbox, why need more?" Major asked him.

"It's not an ordinary PS2. In fact, I don't think it _is_ a PS2. I need bigger tools for that reason. Maybe I need some scientist to record this. A machine that can send people to another world is a technological breakthrough. Maybe we can salvage some technology from it. Let me fetch the tools I'll need for a while," Hax said, then disconnected his connection from the chat room.

"Don't go too long, we'll wait for you!" Red shouted to Hax off-screen, but her voice can still be heard through the chat room.

"Besides, where did you get that PS2, Ghost?" Major asked, "It's the same PS2 that you bought 4 years ago, right?"

"Erm…No. That old PS2 got broken 1 month ago. This one is a new one I got from some stranger."

"Can you explain more?" Red asked.

"Well, when I got back from college, I found my PS2 wouldn't play any games anymore. I brought it to a repairman, and he said that I'd better buy a new one because the repair cost would be high. I went back and found a package outside the door to my room. There was a note on the top of the package, which said that I have won a new PS2 from a contest. Weird, since I didn't enter any contests," Ghost explained.

"You didn't find out who gave it to you or where that PS2 came from?" Pete asked.

"No. I didn't bother to find out who gave it to me because hey, it's a free new PS2," Ghost explained more.

"Such a bolt minded…" an anonymous commented.

00000

Amarie looked at Gilbert. She was interested in what Gilbert's talking about. It was better than just sitting and being watched by Leglius. She didn't understand what the topic was though, since he was speaking in another language.

"Hey, why aren't you suspicious about him? You don't know what he's talking about, right?" Amarie asked Leglius.

"_He _didn't bring Luca to Sacred Army," Leglius answered.

"How many times I told you, I was just following Luca…" Amarie said and sighed. She came closer to Gilbert.

"Talking to your friends?" she asked. He looked at her and nodded.

"Hello Amarie," Billy greeted her, "How are you?"

"Except being watched by a very suspicious man, I'm fine," she said. Leglius just grumbled a bit. Billy laughed a little.

"Well, I see that very clearly," Billy said, "How's Gilbert? Did he did something stupid back at the Desert, like get attacked by monsters?" Gilbert glared at him. "What? The back of your clothes tells it all."

"Not really, he's a great help in battle. By the way, did you plan to give him something better to wear as armor?" Amarie asked.

"We have planned it. I hope the blacksmith has some of the materials that Gilbert doesn't, though." Billy answered.

Not long after this, Croix and Luca came back.

"Croix!" Amarie called him.

"What, you're still here? Huh? The Captain, too...?" Croix said.

"...Supervising this woman," Leglius explained.

"Hey Croix, can I stay over at your house, too?" Amarie asked.

"Huh? I don't mind, but..." Croix started to say, but was quickly cut off by Amarie.

"Yesss! It's decided then! Let's go right now!"

'She is energetic like Cocona.' Gilbert thought.

"Uh, okay..." Croix said, then after excusing himself to Leglius, they went outside.

**12.45 Pastalia**

Croix, Luca, Amarie, and Gilbert were now at the outside of Grand Bell. Luca seemed excited to be in the city.

"So this is Pastalia. Wow, it's completely different from the Rim!" Luca exclaimed.

"Alright! Let's go eat a lot of good food!" Amarie added.

"But let's go to weapon shop first." Croix said. "Gilbert needs to make new equipment."

"Awwww…Can't you do it later Gilbert?" Amarie asked. He shook his head.

"Sorry. Me. Don't. Know. How. Much. Time. Need. To. Make. All. Equip. Faster. Me. Make. Equip. More. Time. To. Spare."

"Okay, okay…Lead the way Croix," Amarie said.

**13.00 Cynthia's Weapon Shop**

The party came to the shop. Croix was immediately greeted by Cynthia.

"Welcome Coo!" She smiled. Gilbert looked at her. She had brown hair, wore a wielding mask, green metal wear for upper body, and a cheerful face. "Where is Coco-hun?"

"She…" Croix explained what happened to her.

"Oh, sorry to hear that…" Cynthia said.

"Anyway…This is Gilbert." Croix introduced the man. "He wants to synthesize some equipment. You can do it, right?"

"Of course I can!"

"Well, then Gilbert, when you're done, go to this location." Croix said then gave him a paper that looked like a map to somewhere. "If you don't find us in my house, wait there." After that Croix and the rest of the party left the shop, leaving Cynthia and Gilbert behind.

"Hey! Wai-"Cynthia said, but Croix was already gone. He seemed to be in a hurry, maybe he was trying to dodge any more conversations with her.

Cynthia sighed, and then looked at Gilbert; he looked like a good person to her. "Well then, do you have the recipe card and the materials?" She asked.

Gilbert took out a device and spoke into it before showing it to her.

"Hello!" Billy greeted Cynthia, which surprised her a bit. "Sorry I surprised you. You must be Cynthia, right?"

"Yes…Who are you?" She asked.

"Croix hasn't introduced us? Oh well." Billy proceeded to introduce the support team. "We have some schematics for making weapons and armor," He added, and then showed some picture of the schematics.

"I never saw that equipment before…Where did you get it?" Cynthia asked.

"Well, it's hard to explain…they're weapons from another world," Billy said, "About the materials…Gilbert, take out those items."

Gilbert then proceeded to take out the weapons and armors that he scavenged, and all cash he had.

"We'll melt it to make the new weapons, and we'll buy some materials that we don't have. Can you do it for us?"

"Usually I don't do this…But since Coo has left you to me, and I'm also interested what you guys will produce, let's get to work!" Cynthia got heated up.

"Thanks." Gilbert said.

**15.00 Cynthia's Weapon Shop**

Gilbert continued making the parts for the equipment. He worked really hard. Cynthia helped him too; since hit looked like he had never created any weapons or armor in his life.

"Dude, are you sure we'll let him make this weapon?" One anonymous commented in the Chat Room.

"Which weapon?" Whiskey Pete asked.

"That anti-materiel weapon. Its recoil is freakin' large, you know."

"But that's the best weapon against some enemies. I mean, he'll fight some robots, big bosses…You have finished the game, don't you?" Another anonymous person said.

"Not really, but he'll need to fire that thing properly. I have messed up firing that thing once, and man, it hurt. Besides, that gun also very heavy."

"Well, with the possible upcoming enemy that might he fight, we don't have really much option, do we?" Pete said.

**21****.00 Cynthia's Weapon Shop**

Cynthia was ready to close her shop, but Gilbert kept working on his equipment.

"Gilbert, rest up. We can continue later." Cynthia said.

"Sorry. Can't. Do. Must. Finish. Equip. Fast. Croix. Wait. Me." Gilbert said.

"Okay then, you okay if I leave you here?" She asked. Gilbert gave her a nod, and then she closed her shop.

**09.00 Cynthia's Weapon Shop**

Cynthia entered her shop, finding Gilbert sleep at the corner of the shop. Beside him, there awere finished weapons and equipments that he made.

"Gilbert, wake up, it's already morning." Cynthia called while shaking his body. Finally, he woke up. "How long did you stay awake to do all this…" She looked at his equipment while Gilbert is sitting.

"Morning Cynthia." Greets Billy from Gilbert's device that he put on beside him when sleeping. "Take a look of Gilbert's creations." Cynthia started with a small gun.

"That is a Tranquilizer Gun. It sends out a small low powered bullet that can put anyone to sleep. The dose is enough to knock out someone at most one minute after being injected. The ammo is scarce, since we didn't bring many chemicals for the bullets," Billy explained as he translates the note from Josh.

Cynthia proceeded to the next gun. It was a bit long.

"That's the P90. It shares the same bullet that Croix's mechanical spear uses. The rate of fire is much faster. It comes up with a stock so it'll absorb the recoil of it. It also comes with a laser sight for accuracy, but can be turned off for stealth purpose. It also comes with a suppressor, to reduce the sound emitted. Try it," Billy said.

"P90? Why don't you give better names like-" Cynthia asked but quickly cut off by Billy.

"It's the official name. But since you ask for another name…" Billy then talked to Josh for a while. "It's decided. We'll name it sub-machine gun. Now try that weapon if you like, Cynthia." Billy said. She sighed.

She turned on the laser sight and fired on a dummy. The firing rate was really fast, but her accuracy was kept up by the stock, and the sound emitted was very small.

"We use advanced technology that converts the sound produced to beyond human hearing, but we still have problem with the bullets. They keep producing sonic booms by breaking sound barrier," Billy said, translating.

Cynthia looked at the next weapon, a gun that looked bulky and heavy.

"That's M107CQ, but we'll call that beauty Vera. She's loaded with armor-piercing-explosive-incinerate Mk211 bullets, very powerful. Don't try to fire it here though, she emitts a very big recoil. We already modified the muzzle brake used to compensate that, but as the result the sound she produces becomes bigger. Much bigger. And there isn't that much ammo. It's hard to make some for that baby," Billy translated Josh's explanation.

Cynthia looked at the next weapon, a short knife.

"That's a combat knife. We make it short and light, so Gilbert won't get burdened by the weight of the weapons he bring. Yes, it's not created to defend from attacks by enemies, but since Gilbert's tactics are more for sneaking, he'll rarely get attacked, anyway. It also can attach to Vera as a bayonet," Billy explained.

Cynthia looked at the next item, a black jacket, for the upper body.

"That is body armor. It was made from the stuff you stored at the back of your store; we'll pay for the material used. It's called Kevlar in our world. It is light, but sturdy enough to protect from bullets. It still produces blunt trauma though, but it's better than no armor, and we're still thinking about protection from lasers and explosions," Billy continued.

Gilbert grabbed the body armor and put it on; not only did it provide protection, it also hid the starch of his clothes. It also looks cool, and no one would think this jacket was sturdy.

"We hope this can pay off all the expenses," Billy said, and then Gilbert takes out all money in his pocket. She counts it for a while. "Oh, we also took a cardboard box, I think it'll come in handy later," he added.

"Thank you!" Cynthia said after she counted the money. "You'll go to Coo's house now?" She then asked.

Gilbert nodded at her.

"There will be a festival shortly; maybe he's now in the Grand Bell. Just wait at his house, he will back after he's done his job."

Gilbert gives her a nod again, and then took all the weapons and stepped out.

"Please come again!" Cynthia said.

00000

**10.00 Croix's House**

Ghost put all the weapons on slowly. Carrying 4 weapons at once is heavy, especially Vera. All of his equipment that he carried estimated around 20 kg. He took out his PDA and contacted the support team again.

"Hey, Pete, can you make Vera lighter? She's pretty heavy," Ghost asked.

"No can do. It's already the close quarter version of the gun; it's shorter and slightly lighter. If we want to make it even lighter, we need lighter material but as strong as we used now. And the weight Vera has reduced the recoil produced by her," Pete explained to Gilbert. "Maybe when we receive First and Second Era technology, we can synthesize lighter materials for that. But, we'll need to somehow make you stronger to make sure you can handle the recoil produced," He added.

"The festival for Cloche's birthday will be begun soon. Don't follow Croix to Grand Bell now; there'll be major events happening that will get the party thrown into jail," Major said, "I'll tell you what event is it when the time comes, or of course, you can ask Croix when he gets home later. According to our prediction, he'll get home at evening; just don't bother him too much when he gets home, since he'll need to choose something very important later."

"So, until Croix come, what should I do?" Gilbert asked.

"There are two choices. One, you can stay here, and train your proficiency with the new weapon. Two, you can wander around Pastalia. Maybe there is an event that'll interest you, just don't go near Grand Bell. The situation will be chaotic there. We'll check surroundings if there's something interesting or if there's danger nearby. Keep bringing your weapon, this will also train your strength," Major said.

Gilbert sat down and thought to himself. "Choose wisely."

Meanwhile…

"Hey Karen, what do you think who'll Croix choose later?" Billy asked.

"Well, I bet 10 bucks that he'll pick Cloche." She replied.

"DEAL!" Billy shouted.

"I'm not talking about real bet…" She said. "Just make sure we're prepared for anything whoever he chooses." She then took out $10 and put it on the floor, and Billy put another $10 on the top of it.

"Hope that you get some luck after your losing, Major."

"Like you already know what is the result, eh." Billy said.

Gilbert then stood up, and seemed ready to give his answer…

END OF CHAPTER 10


	11. Chapter 11

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 11 = Laura

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**1****1.15 Croix House**

"I'll walk around Pastalia for some time," Ghost finally decided. "I'll stress out if I don't. I need some time to refresh myself."

"Okay then. Pastalia should not be too crowded now, since most of its citizens are gathered on the outside of Grand Bell to celebrate the festival. Oh, and keep shooting the surrounding with your PDA camera. We also want to see how Pastalia is in your eyes, since all we see on TV is 2D graphics. At least we can roam around using the camera with the controller," Major said.

Ghost then took all his weapons, and went outside.

**11.45 Somewhere in Pastalia**

"Wow, it's much more beautiful when you see it directly," Red said, looking at Pastalia from Gilbert's PDA, "How lucky that you can see it directly with your eyes, Ghost."

"Not really, I prefer to stay at home and see the beautiful scenery from the TV than see it myself, and have to monsters, and kill people," Ghost replied.

"You must look at the bright side of every situation Ghost," Pete said, "Enjoy the scenery of Pastalia while you can, you won't have much time later to be roaming around like this."

"Wait a minute; I think I see something…" Major said while looking at the corner of the TV screen. He immediately grabbed the controller and moved the camera a bit. There was someone, the clothes she wore were just like the ones Reyvateils used. The interesting thing was, she was standing on the edge of the ground, too close in fact.

"Ghost, turn left, I think someone is going to commit suicide."

"Eh, what?" Ghost responded, and quickly turned left. He saw the Reyvateil, her expression was blank. She looked just like someone did after crying.

'Not good.'

He quickly ran to her.

00000

Laura was ready to end her misery. No one wanted her alive anyway. All the people that she loved were killed…by her own hands.

Her father and mother…

She closed her eyes, and let herself fall to Sea of Death.

Somebody grabbed her hand. She opened her eyes. A man was holding her hand.

"What! Are! You! Try! To! Do!" The man yelled.

"Let me go! Please let me die…"

"Don't! Do! This! Stupid! Thing!"

00000

Gilbert tried to pull the girl back to the ground. It was very hard to do. He didn't have a soldier's strength or anything like that, and this woman did not grab his hand, which made it harder. Suddenly, another hand grabbed his and he heard a female speaking from behind him.

"I'll help you!"

Together, they finally were able to pull the suicidal woman back to safety.

00000

"Fuh, he did it…I almost thought that he wouldn't make it," Red said.

"But come to think of it…In normal gameplay we wouldn't have met this suicidal woman…It means we probably can't save her…Kind of grim, eh?" Pete said.

"Don't think too much on it. Did you notice the name of the girl on the talking box when she spoke on TV?" Major said.

"No." Red replied, "Who is that girl?"

00000

Gilbert looked at the suicidal girl. She had black long hair with a hair clip on each side, and wore an ordinary Reyvateil outfit. She punched at Gilbert and started yelling.

"Why? Why did you save me?"

Gilbert held her arms to make sure she wouldn't run to the edge and jump again.

"Calm! Down!"

After a while, she calmed down. Gilbert then turned to the other woman and explained to her what happened.

"Please. Help. Me. Talk. To. Her. My. Language. Not. Fluent."

She nodded and walked to the black haired girl.

"What's your name? Why were you trying to kill yourself?"

'My name is Laura..."

As she told her story, she began to see, through her mind's eye, everything that had happened to her.

In the past, she and her family lived in Pastalia. Then, one day, she became infected with the disease that she now knew to be IPD. Not wanting their daughter contained, her parents secretly brought her to the slums to hide her. But, when they arrived at the slum, her disease worsened and she unknowingly killed her parents.

After she was contained, the next thing that she remembered was being cured by a Reyvateil named Luca. When she goes back to her house, she called for her parents. It was right then that she remembered that they were both dead, at her hand. She broke down, blamed herself for the tragedy, and decided that the best punishment for her crime was suicide.

00000

"That was…dark…" Red commented.

"I hope Ghost's able to console her with right words…" Major replied. He wanted to call him and give him advice on what should he say, but he knew very well that it would ruin the moment if the words did not come from himself.

00000

"Laura," Gilbert started to speak, "You. Shouldn't. Blame. Yourself. You. Don't. Do. It. On. Purpose. Besides. Me. Sure. Your. Parents. Want. To. Hide. You. To. Slum. Cause. They. Want. You. To. Keep. Alive."

"But-"

"You. Shouldn't. Waste. Your. Life. If. You. Dead. You. Will. Make. Your. Parents. Purpose. To. Keep. You. Alive. Go. Waste. You. Should. Value. Your. Life. Because. Your. Parents. Try. To. Keep. You. Alive. Until. They. Passed."

After hearing him speak, Laura thought, 'He's right; my parents risked their lives to hide me to the slum, even though they died. I should keep myself alive.'

"But…What should I do now…" Laura said.

The girl that helped Gilbert then said to him, "Come on, I'll help you motivate her."

He, Laura, and the girl then got into a rather lengthy talk. Afterwards, Laura decided to go home and promised not to try to suicide again. After then, he looked at the other woman.

"Thanks. Me. Can't. Do. It. Without. You."

"It's nice that I can help someone, especially I saved by Lady Cloche and Luca too."

"Who. Are. You? My. Name. Gilbert."

"Oh! All this thing makes me forget to introduce myself!" She chuckled. "I'm Reine. Sorry, I need to rush to Grand Bell, the festival has nearly begun! Bye!" She said, and then ran off.

00000

"What a surprise." Major said. "That's Reine who created Cloche's Fanclub, right?"

"Yeah." One anonymous person said. "No mistake, it's really her."

"Well, I hope this won't make a major change to the story." Major said.

"Ghost here." He said. "I did a good job, didn't I?"

"You did a great job Ghost," Red said.

"Well, I'll go back to Croix's house. All of this made me tired."

"Well, there's still a lot of time until Croix goes home." Pete said. "We'll do some combat classes for a bit with the new weapon, so you can get good at it. Don't be lazy, Ghost."

"Aw man…" Ghost whining, and then put his PDA back to his pocket.

00000

**13.00 Laura's House**

Laura sat at her house. She thought about what she was going to do now.

Before this,her parents were there to guide her actions. She now had no guide and needed to think for herself.

She then thought of the man who saved her. Without him, she wouldn't be sitting here; she would be in the Sea of Death, and made her parents efforts go waste.

'How can I repay him for what he's done?'

She then made her decision. She stood up and started packing all things that she may need later. She would follow this man, and help him with all her strength. She didn't know who the man was or where he lived, but she would find him.

'Father…Mother…I'm sorry about the things I did to both of you. I hope you both rest well now. I'll go and find the man who opened my eyes about your sacrifice. I'll help him. This won't bring you both back, but I hope you both will bless what I'll do,' Laura said in a low voice.

00000

**15.00 Croix's House**

Gilbert sits for a while after he trains hard with Josh. It was hard, but he knew that all of this will improve his chances of survival in battle.

"Hey, I am wondering about that girl that I save." Ghost said.

"You mean Laura?" Major asked.

"You said Cocona will be back, right? That means IPDs that are contained don't get killed. If only both of the parents knew that…Maybe they both would still be alive…"

"But…I doubt that she would have ever escaped from the IPD lab. Remember, she was beaten by Croix and cured by Luca."

"What kind of place is the IPD lab?"

"Well, since the event is probably already done, I'll tell you."

He then told him that Croix and others were most likely in jail now, because the party tried to infiltrate the IPD labs. He also explained in details what IPD labs were, and the events that happened.

"Wow that was a lot. And Croix must choose between Luca and Cloche next day?" Ghost asked.

"Well, yeah…" Major said. He hoped that Ghost doesn't try to make Croix choose Cloche, since he'll lose the bet. He also can't tell him about the bet since Red already made him promise to remain silent about it until Croix made his choice.

00000

Not long afterwards, Croix got home, really tired from the events that happened. Cocona followed him in from behind. Gilbert immediately ran to Cocona and hugged her.

"Cocona! I'm. Glad. You. Safe."

"Well, I'm glad too, but please ease up…" Cocona said. Gilbert releases his hug.

"How. You. Can. Back?" Gilbert asked.

Cocona then told her story, which was pretty much like Billy's explanation. He wasn't really surprised, but he acted like he was.

"That. Must. Be. Hard." Gilbert said. "Me. Thought. Luca. Was. Good. But. She. Did. Cruel. Act. Like. That."

"By the way…How about your language skill when I go?" Cocona asked.

"No. Really. Much. Improvement," Gilbert said, "But. Let's. Rest. For. Now. You. Must. Be. Tired."

They both went upstairs immediately to rest.

**09.00 Croix's House**

Croix, Cocona, and Gilbert were ready to go to Grand Bell. Croix would now choose whose side he will go to. Gilbert's skill with the new weapons has increased because of the training yesterday. When the party started to depart, a girl ran to the party, carrying some luggage.

"Waaaaiiiiitttt!" That girl calls. Gilbert knew exactly who it was. It was Laura.

"Sorry, I needed some time to find where you live." She said while huffing a bit, still tired from running. "Can I go with you? I'm grateful to this man for saving my life," She talked to Croix while pointing at Gilbert.

"Gilbert, what do did you do while I was gone?" Croix asked.

Gilbert just smiles at Croix and tell him that he just saved a suicidal woman. He then let Croix make the decision.

"Well…Be sure to keep up with us…" Croix said.

Laura said thank you to him, and went to Gilbert.

"Um…First, thank you for saving my life…So your name is Gilbert, right?" Laura said.

Gilbert nod to her.

"You always travel around with them?" she asked, and he nodded again.

"Well, I'll help you on your journey, to repay your kindness to me. I'm really grateful for yesterday," she said, "Can you tell me about yourself?"

"Maybe. Later. When. We. Rest. Somewhere."

"And what's your name?" she asked the little girl.

"I'm Cocona! I'm that man's sister." Cocona said while pointing to Croix. "His name is Croix." Laura looked at the blue haired man once again. She now sure that's the man who contained her, and that he was with Luca.

"Can we talk while walking? We need to go to Grand Bell now." Croix said.

The party was going. Laura asked why Luca wasn't with them. Gilbert and Cocona told her the events that happened to the party.

**09.30 Grand Bell Hall**

The party now arrived at Grand Bell. Croix seemed ready to choose who he will follow.

"I have chosen now, I'll protect…"

END OF CHAPTER 11


	12. Chapter 12

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 12 = Definitely NOT PS2

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**09.31**** Grand Bell Hall**

"Luca. I'll protect Luca." Croix finally decided.

00000

On another world, Billy immediately took the bet money.

"I won!" Billy said while grinning at Karen, "Pizza for everyone!" He then reached for his cell phone and called for pizza delivery.

"Man, I also want pizza…" An anonymous person commented.

"Too bad, you must come here first!" Billy said. "Speaking of that, where is Hax?"

"He isn't back from yesterday. His home is a bit far, remember?" Josh reminded him.

"Well, he better get here quick or all the pizza will be gone." Billy said.

00000

**11:00 ****Sacred Army's HQ**

The party arrived at the Sacred Army's Headquarters in Etna with an airship that the former enemy dog had called for. The dog becomes his ally now, along with other soldiers and Reyvateils that he fought before. Gilbert and the others were now walking to the inn in Etna, while Croix had a little talk with his old friend, Targana. The rest of the party had a little chat.

"So, that's why he can't speak clearly…" Laura said after she was informed that Gilbert was just starting to study their language. "Can I help you to teach him, Cocona?"

"Of course! You heard that Gilbert, you will get another teacher to teach you!"

Gilbert just nodded, hoping that he won't get overcome by the lessons, since lessons in languages are harder for him than ones in combat. Not that Cocona isn't doing a good job, it's more about how many Japanese words that he must absorb in a day, and considering the fact that he wasn't even learning how to combine all those into a sentence correctly, the lessons would be much harder later. But as he thought of it, at least Cocona was not teaching like his killer Math teacher did back in high school. Laura also looked like she wouldn't be harsh when teaching as well.

As Gilbert got lost in his thoughts, suddenly Luca screamed and brought him out of his thoughts. Luca was falling.

Amarie ordered, "Bring Croix here, now!"

Gilbert and Laura carried Luca to the side of the hall and let her rest while they waited.

"Amarie. Why. Call. Croix? Why. Don't. Let. Luca. Use. Her. Song. To. Heal. Herself?" Gilbert asks Amarie.

"I want to check if he still really have feelings for Luca or just joined with her because he hates Grand Bell for lying to him," Amarie said.

Gilbert just gave a 'whatever' look and waited if Croix would come.

Not long after, the former Grand Bell knight came, with a worried expression on his face and asked what was wrong. After he was told what had happened, he then carried Luca on his back.

"Seriously, after all she said, how can you still have feelings for her?" Amarie asked Croix.

He didn't know how to answer that, then told Luca to rest for today so she would be able to walk on the next day.

"Oh, by the way, the Prince himself wants to discuss his plans tomorrow, so...you better come," Amarie reminded Croix.

The party then walked to the inn to rest. Gilbert just sighed; he predicted that once they reach the inn, he'll get swarmed with the language course again.

00000

**15.00 Gilbert's Room**

Major, Red, and Pete accessed their online games account while eating pizza, since nothing interesting was happening that day. They knew that nothing important will be happen that day. The party will go to Cloud Wharf tomorrow, and Ghost iwas still busy with special language course, so the team couldn't do anything useful today other than to wait.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door. Hax was finally back, bringing a big rucksack, and a few men followed him from behind.

"Hax, who's those guys?" Major asked.

"These people are scientist, engineers…. I was expecting a technological breakthrough on that PS2, so I brought some people to help us."

"How did you convince them?" Red asked.

"I have connections," Hax replied while grinning, "Shall we open that PS2 now?"

"We have to inform Ghost first, just in case if we lost connection to him because we opened it," Major said, then reached his laptop and opened the chat room, then sent a buzz to Ghost's PDA.

"Ghost reporting. What is it?" Ghost said.

"Hax will open the PS2. Our connection might be lost when we open that PS2, just to inform you. Be ready to do battle without us when that happens," Major said.

"I got it." Ghost said.

"Okay, open that PS2," Major said.

Hax put down his rucksack, then looks at the PS2. He then took some tools from his bag.

Not long after, Hax successfully opened the PS2. He slowly took the case off. He couldn't believe what he saw.

"Guys…You better look at this…" He said.

Everyone in the room looked at the inside of the PS2. It looked that the machine came from another century. Whatever it was, it definitely was not a PS2. He looked at the CD tray, it wasn't moving at all. It seemed the tray was just there to fool people to think that this was a regular gaming machine.

"Guys…Time to work now," Hax said to the engineers and scientists, "Remember, be careful with that machine, we don't want to break it." They then started to examine it.

"Major here, you still there?" Major ask Ghost.

"Yeah. What's wrong?" Ghost said.

"Nothing. Just checking if we still connected or not. What about your language course?"

"Starting to be even more confusing. I wonder why they have so many letters for their language…I prefer combat practice than this," Ghost whined.

"C'mon, it's not that bad. Oh and about Laura…You still remember what I said before a long time ago right?"

"Yeah, get a Reyvateil girlfriend. I'm not really sure about this, I just met her yesterday…"

"And Croix just met Cloche some days ago and she is one of the possibility of his love interest, but not in this path though. The point is, be brave. You got the advantage that Laura is very grateful to you, but it's up to you if you want her or not. Just to remind you, she can protect you more if you got attached to her…" Major explained.

"Let's wait, okay? Don't rush it. It's about a person feelings, I don't want to use her just for my safety."

"Okay then…Go back to your language lesson. Oh, and a pro-tip: don't eat anything that Luca cooks if she decided to cook at Rakshek. Major out."

"Hey, can I take a slice of that pizza?" Hax asked.

"Go on, it's for everyone." Pete said.

00000

**21.00 Inn at Etna**

Gilbert was trying to rest. It wasn't with Laura, though, as she went to Luca's room, and knocked the door.

"This is Laura, may I come in?"

"Sure!" Luca said.

Laura then entered the room. Luca was still lying on the bed, since her foot still hurt from the injury."You want to talk about something?"

"Yes…It's about Gilbert. What do you think of him?" Laura asks.

"Well, he is kinda of mysterious because he always talks in another language with his friends, but he's nice. How come?"

"I just want to know more about him."

"How about you? Why did you choose to follow him?"

"It happened a few days ago. Remember when you cured me?" Laura started her story. She then told about how she met Gilbert, and how he saved her.

"…That's why I follow him. I think this is the best how I show my gratitude. Also, I can help you too!"

"Wow, he must have been very brave back then. He could have also fallen when he helped you."

"Yeah…Croix's also brave. He risked his life to save IPD's so you could cure us, just like me back then. You still cure IPD's, right?"

"Of course! I will cure as much as I can, I fell that as my responsibility."

"I'm sure that you will become a great Reyvateil, Luca. Oh sorry, I must be taking too much of your time. I will go back now. Hope that your foot will be cured tomorrow!"

"It's okay. Good night. Oh, and thanks for the compliment, hehehe!" Luca said, then Laura went back to her own room.

00000

**22.00 ****Gilbert's Room**

"Well, what we got here, guys?" Hax ask the team of scientists and engineers that he brought.

"So far, we can only sort parts in that machine. You see, this is the power supply, and this is…" One of the people pointed out each part of the machine and explained its use.

"Well, that's a good start. I understand that we can't do much since we need that machine in one piece. Major, can we bring this machine out to lab for a while for some examining?" Hax asked.

"I don't know…Remember last time when we left Ghost on his own back at Ironplate Desert? I'm afraid that he'll get injured again," Major said.

"But maybe from examining this, we can find out how Ghost ended up in Metafalss in the first place. Besides, if we know how he got there, maybe we can send in some items to Gilbert by way of teleporting, or even know how to bring him back."

"Okay, but first, we need to confirm to Ghost about thi-…"Major said, but was quickly cut off.

"It's alright, I heard all of that. Examine that PS2. Besides, I won't be messed up like before. Remember, I got new weapons and this Kevlar." Ghost said.

"Ghost, you're not sleeping yet?" Red asked.

"Can't sleep. I can feel someone talking about me…" He replied.

"You heard him Hax, do it, but please be fast, the people at the forum won't like to wait on us, you know." Major said.

"It shouldn't take too long, we just take some data on that machine, then immediately bring it back in one piece. The data gained can be used to see how this thing works." Hax said, and then took the PS2. "Oh, and Ghost, in theory, you should be disconnected when we dissemble the machine. Just informing you. Well, we'll be back soon." He added then he and his team of scientists and engineers left.

"You know what; I feel a bit scared of him…I wonder how resourceful he is…" Red said.

00000

**06****:00 Sacred Army's HQ**

The party was now on the outside of the Sacred Army's HQ. They had a briefing not long before, mostly some speech from Targana about Infel Phira, and got a mission for the party to retrieve a Hymn Crystal that can stop it. It made Luca feel unsure though, since stopping Infel Phira could mean killing high level IPD's.

"Umm... Sorry... I know we have a mission, and I feel really bad about it but, I have a favor to ask. Before we go to the ruins, can we stop by Rakshek? With all we're doing, I can't handle my other job, so... I wanted to let Mrs. Lahr and the others know," Luca said.

"Sure, why not?" Amarie said. Then the party use train to Rakshek first.

**07:00 Rakshek**

The party arrived at Rashek. Gilbert was still asleep in his seat. Since he came to this world, he couldn't wake up in the morning, so when the briefing came, he was almost asleep, and when he got onto the train, he went to sleep on the train seat.

"Gilbert, we're already at Rakshek." Luca said to him while waking him up. He quickly woke up, took all his guns, and went out of the train with the others.

As they walk out, the party noticed a big crowd in the Rakshek square. At the center of the crowd was Lady Cloche. She was accompanied with some Grand Bell Knights. She was giving a speech about something. The party kept walking without being noticed by them.

"I won't be long. Wait at the inn; I'll go to there when I'm done," Luca said, and after she left, the party went to the inn.

**07:30 Inn at Rakshek**

"Gilbert, may I see your weapons?" Croix asked. He never once checked Gilbert's new weapons, only glanced at them. Gilbert nodded and gave the guns to him. The knight was surprised by the weight of all these weapons.

"You don't get tired carring all of these around?"

"I. Very. Tired. But. Must. Adapt." Gilbert said, "Besides. These. Good. Exercise. For. Me. Strength. Carry. Around. These."

"But I think it's overkill if you carry this all the time…You could get extremely tired when the actual battle comes."

"If you don't mind…Maybe I can carry some of these, to help you," Laura said. "Don't worry, I'll carry all these guns carefully, I promise!"

"I. Appreciate. That. But. Gives. Me. The. Gun. Before. Battles," Gilbert said, then handed her his sub-machine gun. He felt his burden lighten, it was still heavy though, since he still needed to carry Vera, the heaviest gun that he had, and the ammunition for each weapon.

"Only this? What about the other weapons?" Laura asks.

"No. I. Carry. Other. Weapons. Do. Not. Want. To. Burden. You. More." Gilbert said. "Thanks. For. Your. Help."

"No problem. If you want me to carry more just ask me though," Laura said. "Oh, and while we wait for Luca, let's teach Gilbert more about our language, Cocona."

"Okay then! C'mon, Gilbert, your language skill is getting even better with each lesson! Oh, and try to keep your focus in one place, so you don't get lost in your mind again," Cocona said.

Gilbert sighed. He then checked his PDA; it was dead. He tried to turn on the PDA, with no result. He wondered why it was no longer working. Maybe it was related to the PS2 dissembling that Hans was doing now. He put the PDA back into his pocket and started learning again from Cocona and Laura…

**08:00 Inn at Rakshek**

"I think he already know the basics of the language." Laura said to Cocona, then she turned to Gilbert. "Try saying something, this time in a full sentence."

"Um…Can I take a break for this lesson?" Gilbert said.

"Great! I think you have learned it all! But we haven't taught you how to write and read…" Cocona replied.

"No need to worry, as long as I can understand what I hear and can speak to you, I am fine." Gilbert said to Cocona.

"Okay…If you need to read something, tell us okay?" Laura asked.

Not long after, Luca arrived;, and it looksed like she was done with her business.

"Thanks for waiting! I'm sorry I was a little selfish…"

"Don't worry. They're important to you, right?" Croix said.

Luca nodded to him.

"Alrighty, then! How 'bout we get going! It feels like it's gonna be a big adventure! I'm already excited!" Cocona said energetically.

"We're not playing around." Croix reminded his step-sister.

"We can get to the Conductor Activator from the Clouds Wharf station." Amarie said. The party then went to Cloud Wharf, ready to get the Hymn Crystal…

**END OF CHAPTER 12**


	13. Chapter 13

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 13 = Battle Time

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

Author Note: One of my friends asked what looks Gilbert looks like when seen on the TV. Think of it as RTS that has an overhead view, with 2d graphics like Ar Tonelico in game. Don't think about it too hard, okay?

**10.00**** Cloud Wharf**

The party has reached the Cloud Wharf. Now they were going to Conductor Activator as planned. As the party walked, they spotted an IPD Reyvateil. The party was ready to contain the IPD to have her cured later. As for Gilbert, this was a good time to try out his new weapons.

"Laura, my weapon please?" Gilbert asked her. She handed him the sub-machine gun and Gilbert immediately went to hide.

"Why he is doing that? I thought that he'll join the battle," Laura asked.

"Gilbert participates in battles in a unique way, you'll understand. Now, help Luca; Cocona will guard you," Croix said to Laura. She was a bit disappointed, she had thought that Gilbert would act as a vanguard in battle, and she wanted him to protect her when fighting. Laura agreed anyway and got ready to support Luca's song magic.

The battle started. Gilbert hid behind the steel blocks, waiting for his chance to strike. He recalled what he has taught before by Hax. He must wait until the IPD was weakened, because the low powered bullets of the tranquilizer gun wouldn't pierce the barrier until she was weakened considerably. He took aim as the battle went on. Aiming at the IPD was easy when she charged her song, and was not kicking the vanguards.

'Wait…Luca's song magic should weaken her severely. Wait until Luca unleashes her song magic,' Gilbert thought. After a while, she unleash her song magic at the IPD. A little girl was pouring a big wave of water onto the IPD. Gilbert tried hard to not think where the water came from.

'I bet the developers must have been smoking something weird when they created the song magic for the game…' Gilbert thought again. He then aimed at the IPD as she recovered from the water, and pulled the trigger.

*FWIP*

The bullet hit the IPD's neck. A second later, she fell down. It seemed that the tranquilizer gun was working. Croix went to the IPD and quickly contained her.

"Nice shot!" Amarie said.

"Good job Gilbert! Maybe we need to produce one for Croix so he can contain IPDs easier!" Cocona exclaimed.

"Maybe sometime, Cocona. I hope Cynthia still has the design, but we need to buy the chemicals for the bullets from Spica first," Gilbert said. After Croix finished containing the IPD, the party continued walking to the Conductor Activator.

**10.30 Conductor Activator**

Gilbert looked at the place. It felt like he was in some kind of futuristic place, or inside an alien spaceship.

"Wow! I've never seen anything like this!" Cocona said.

"We won't know what to expect. Let's be careful from now on." Croix said.

"Okay. But, the wall..." Cocona try to say something before being interrupted by him.

"Even if there are buttons, don't you dare push them."

"Aww...you shot me down!" Cocona said.

"I was expecting that." Croix said. It was a good thing that he could read his stepsister's mind.

"Not good." Gilbert said while looking at the surroundings.

"What's wrong?" Amarie asked him.

"Almost no concealment for me here. I hope that we don't encounter any battles in this area."

Suddenly, two thin robots came up to the party. They seemed ready to attack.

"Me and my big mouth," Gilbert said.

The party was ready for battle. He felt that this was the time to test Vera, but without concealment, he would be attacked before he can even get off one shot. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Croix, can you cover me for a while? I'll set up my big gun behind you. When I'm ready to fire, I'll tell you to back off," Gilbert said.

"Alright." Croix said, and then covered Gilbert. Gilbert quickly set up Vera. He put it on the hexagonal steel floor, went prone and set up the bipod and looked in front of him. Luca's ice song magic was flung at the enemy, killing one of the robots. It seemed that the party focused on one of the robots first.

"Croix! Get away!" Gilbert yelled.

Croix jumped aside, leaving nothing between the robot and Gilbert. The young man then quickly aimed at the robot. He pulled the trigger before the robot could go to him, much less attack.

**

The party quickly covered their ears, because the noise from the gun was very loud. After a second, they look at the robot. It was blown in half, with some fragments scattered around. The party was amazed by the gun's power.

"Yeah! You show it what you can do!" Cocona said energetically, but quickly a worried look overcome her smile as she looks at Gilbert. He covered his shoulders in fetal position. The party quickly comes close to him.

"Gilbert, are you okay?" Laura asked him as she put him in a sitting position.

He gave no response.

"Cocona, try to ask him in sign language if he can hear anything. Maybe he got deafened by the sound of that gun," Croix asked.

Cocona nodded and asked the question, using sign language.

Gilbert shook his head.

Luca said, "Looks like he broke his shoulder, too," and quickly invoked a healing song magic on Gilbert.

"Let's wait here a while. I hope he'll regain his hearing shortly." Croix said.

**5 Minutes Later…**

"Gilbert, can you hear me now?" Luca asked him.

"Yes, although my ears still hurt from that gun…" Gilbert said, "Never expected that the gun to be THAT loud."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Croix asked.

"It was quick. I aimed at the torso of the robot, and pulled the trigger. Then a sudden force knocked my right shoulder very hard, and I also got deafened by the sound." Gilbert explained, "It seems that I fired it in wrong position. My shoulder is too far from the back of the rifle, so the recoil was not well absorbed by my shoulder."

"Your friends back there didn't tell you the big gun would be that loud?" Cocona ask him.

"No, maybe they also didn't expect it either," Gilbert said.

"Well, next time you'd better not fire that gun until you get some ear protectors or something like that," Croix said.

The party then proceeded to explore the Conductor Activator.

**11.30 Conductor Activator**

After some battles with more robots, jammers, and some arguments over which button was the one that activated the lift at Conductor Activator, they finally they arrived at a room with a crystal at the center of it.

"So this is the Hymn Crystal?" Croix asked.

The party moved towards the crystal. Suddenly, two bulky white robots fell down from nowhere. The appearance was like the black robot back at Grand Bell.

"Looks like some sort of guardian..." Amarie looked at the robots.

"Requesting release code from management authority." One of the robots said.

"Searching for Hymn Code with management authority." Another robot said.

Gilbert thought, 'If we need to input some code or something like that, we're in trouble, since I don't understand what the robots are talking about.'

"If they're going to interfere, then we'll have to fight!" Croix said, readying his spear for battle. The others also got themselves ready.

"Switching to Hymnos Word Analysis Mode." One of the robots said again.

"What is this? Shuny didn't say there'd be these things!" Cocona said.

"Talking's not going to solve this. Are you ready!" Croix yelled.

"Yesss! Guess we'll have to do it!" Cocona said energetically, while holding her baton.

"They look super strong and tough to me," Amarie exclaimed.

Gilbert started to take Vera out, but Croix stopped him.

"Gilbert, don't use that gun now, wait until you got an ear protector, okay?"

Gilbert let out a sigh and took out his sub-machine gun.

The robots unfortunately, were too tough to handle. One of the robots managed to hold Croix, and another robot comes closer to Luca. As the situation seemed to get worse, suddenly the robots stopped, and released Croix.

"Welcome back, Administrator Frelia," One of the robots said.

"...Frelia?" Croix asked, confused.

Gilbert was also confused. 'Who is this Frelia?'

"Luca, that was amazing!" said Cocona.

"But, I didn't do anything.

"I bet it's 'cause you're the real Goddess Maiden, so it reacted to something inside you." Amarie guessed.

"I don't understand..." Luca got even more confused.

"Croix, the crystal, aren't we supposed to take it?" Laura said to him.

"Huh?" Croix asked.

"Go get the crystal already Croix! Run! Jump!" Amarie said.

"Me?" Croix asked again.

"I see no one named Croix other than you," Gilbert said.

Croix then ran, got the Hymn Crystal, and then went back to the party.

"Hahaha! Well done!" Amarie exclaimed.

"Man, thanks for giving me the dangerous part," Croix whined.

"Oh come on, the rest of us are all delicate flowers. Do you want us to go?" Amarie asked.

"I find that word somehow hurt my pride." Gilbert said.

"Oh, sorry Gilbert, don't mean to offend you." Amarie said again while patting his back. Suddenly, the place started shaking, like an earthquake.

"Link with Sol Marta complete. DV, CV, both switching to active mode," An announcer spoke.

"DV? CV? ...Hey, Luca! What's DV and CV!" Cocona asked.

"I don't know!" Luca said

"Did you do something?" Cocona asked her brother.

"It's not my fault!" Croix quickly defended himself.

"Heh heh...don't worry! We just did what Shun told us!" Amarie said.

"Uh...what's gonna happen to us?" Luca asked, panicky. Suddenly, the quake stopped.

"Huh? Nothing happened..." Cocona said.

"Looks like it." Amarie said.

"I almost though that all this will be like an Indiana Jones Adventure, where you take a treasure, and traps are activated all of sudden, and…" Gilbert said.

"What?" Laura asked. All sets of eyes were on Gilbert.

"Um…Later I'll explain it. It's a long story."

"Oh well. So, what am I supposed to do with this crystal?" Croix asked.

"Hand it over to me." A voice answered, and someone entered the room. It was the old man with big stone on his head that he saw back on Grand Bell, Laude. Behind him was the black, bulky robot.

"That crystal is a great obstacle for us. I came to remove it," Laude said.

"How's that?" Croix asked.

"If you sing that song, we won't be able to fight the Goddess. It figures that a traitor like you would seek to possess it. You see, the princess there is going to sing Metafalica for us," Laude said while point at Luca.

"Don't you dare touch her," Croix said, and he really meant it.

"And what if I do? Do you want to smash this Jacqli Robo?" Laude sneered, "I'll remind you, she is stronger than she looks."

"What! You've only got one junky machine! We've got two white ones on our side, so there! Luca, go mess them up!" Cocona said.

"Huh? What am I supposed to do?"

"Like I said! Use those white robots!"

"I don't know how! I've never used them before!"

"Are you done with your comedy bit yet?" Laude asked, looking tired with all the conversation.

"That's not funny!" Cocona yelled.

"I don't have time for this! Let's end this real quick!" Laude said, and then the Jacqli robot proceeded to attack the party. The battle was hard; because the robot withstood all attacks given to it.

"Croix, may I…" Gilbert asked but quickly cut by Croix.

"No, don't use your big gun," Croix said.

Gilbert let out a sigh.

After some attacks, the robot stopped, and the old man spoke again.

"Do you still want some?" Croix taunted him.

"No, I hate inefficiency. And what I hate most are pointless battles. Croix, won't you come back to the Grand Bell with Luca?" The old man asked.

"What?" Croix said.

"I'll talk to our Lord Chancellor for you. It's not a bad idea." Laude offered.

"No," Croix answered curtly.

"That's too bad. You're highly skilled. Now if only you were smart..." Laude said.

"Someone always said, 'Smart is as smart does.'" Croix countered

"Grh! Jacqli, this is a waste of time! Smash them up for me!" The old man ordered.

However, it looked like the robot had a will of its own, because it threw him instead.

"What are you looking at!" Laude yelled at the robot, angry. It then hovered out.

"Hey! Stop! Don't act on your own!" Laude follows the robot.

"Okay, what was that?" Cocona asked, she could not believe what she has seen.

"Either way, we're saved..." Amarie said.

"Wait! I'm going to go stop Lady Cloche!"

"What's wrong?" Croix asked her.

"I don't want to sing Hibernation if I don't have to. Because even if it's the way to ensure minimal sacrifices... It doesn't change the fact that there'll be sacrifices!" Luca tells the party, "Besides, Laude and that Jacqli gave me a weird vibe… They said something strange earlier. They want me to sing Metafalica..."

Croix was very surprised by this.

"Why do they want me when they have Lady Cloche?" Luca asked.

"Probably because you're the Goddess Maiden..." Croix guessed.

"Then, what is Lady Cloche? If she can't sing Metafalica, then what are they fighting for?" Luca asked.

Croix had no answer.

"Come on, let's go! If we leave this, I feel like something bad will happen," Luca continued.

Then, the party heard somebody walk in: Shun. Behind the Divine Messenger was an army.

"Hey, guys! There's no time to waste," he said.

"Shun! What are you doing here?" Amarie asked.

"The war is going to start in a few hours. The Grand Bell officially announced it!"

"Shun! Please take us to Lady Cloche!" Luca said.

"You don't have to tell me twice. We're running out of time. I have an airship waiting for us outside. Let's go," Shun said. They then went to airship, and got ready to assault Grand Bell…

END OF CHAPTER 13

Author Note: And before I forget again, special thanks to Feinne who made a "Let's play" on Ar Tonelico 2, since I mostly forgot the scene since last playthrough. Arigato!


	14. Chapter 14

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 14 = Incapacitated

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**13****.00 Grand Bell**

The party quickly went to Grand Bell, where Lady Cloche was giving her speech about the war. Luca immediately went to stop her. She said that they should not start a war with Goddess, but Cloche insisted. Cloche started to sing something, most likely a Hymn.

"Luca! Hurry, sing Hibernation!" yelled Shun while the party fought with the Grand Bell army. Luca immediately began. Gilbert heard it and thought it was like two opera singers battling, trying to decide who's the better singer. But, he couldn't really hear it because he was busy shooting at the army. Their armor was surprisingly hard to be pierced by the bullets, so he relied on headshots.

After a few moments, a pillar of light came to the area. Gilbert quickly covers his eyes. After a while, he opened his eyes. Before him were two bulky white robots, like back at the Conductor Activator, and a girl in the middle of it. After taking a second glance, he realized that the girl was also a robot. The Grand Bell Army had vanished, he noticed.

"Don't underestimate our power, Maiden of Disaster," The girl said, referring to Lady Cloche. "You broke the 400 year old oath to do this? Physical intervention of Sol Marta is prohibited by treaty #9032 under the 5th clause. You have violated the law. Therefore you will be severely punished..."

Gilbert didn't know what she meant, but he didn't really like the "severely punished" part. The party moved to fight the robots and to protect Lady Cloche.

Gilbert threw several bullets to her head, but to his shock, she didn't even flinch! She didn't do anything and he guessed that maybe she was waiting for something. After a while, Cloche unleashed her song magic. Gilbert could feel that it was empowered by something, because it was capable of destroying 2 robots that Luca's song before couldn't even scratch. The robot girl, however, looked unharmed.

"I see…So this is the power of Replakia. Quite impressive, I must say. However, it is not enough. I will show you…True power!" The robot girl said.

She started to fly, using rockets that were behind her, and rushed to the party. She managed to down all of them. Gilbert, however, stood far away from the party, still shooting at her, although with no effect.

'Damn! Sorry, but I must use this now!' Gilbert thought, and started to take out Vera. He didn't even know if he could fire and strike her down while standing, since the weight of Vera was very heavy. He started to take aim to the face of that robot girl…

Suddenly she rushed at Gilbert, with a sword that came out of nowhere. It was so fast, faster than he thought. She quickly slashed him. He was flung to the lower side of Grand Bell building.

*BAAAAAAMMM*

**08****.00**

Gilbert woke up, feeling dizzy. He tried to look where he was. Many machines surrounded him. He noticed that Laura was sleeping at the side of the bed; it seemed that she was waiting for him to wake up. He tried to remember what had happened.

'I was about to shoot that robot girl, and-'

"Ghost, wake up!" He heard a familiar voice. It's Billy.

"Yeah, I'm here. What happened?" He asked.

"Well, it's a long story…" Billy said, and then started the story.

The support team was called by Hans to the Lab, where it had more space than Gilbert's room, and requested to conduct the operation in there. As the team linked back the PS2, the team was shocked by Gilbert's bloodied body, being healed by Laura. The team tried to call Laura through Gilbert's PDA.

"…She seemed to be panicking, when she tried to heal you. She said that you were attacked by a robot girl," Billy added.

"Ah yes, I remember. I tried to kill that robot with Vera, but she was too fast and attacked me first before I could do anything," Gilbert recalled the past event.

"By that point, you should have waited until the Jaquli came and held that robot girl in place. Only if she arrived faster…" Billy said, and continued his story. Although he needed a lot of time, Gilbert was finally healed by Laura.

"…But you were still unconscious, even though you were healed, so Croix decided to leave you in his house while the party went to Metafalica, to retrieve Luca's heart," Billy said. Gilbert looked at surrounding carefully; he noticed that this was indeed Croix's house, despite the machines surround him.

"But…you better look at the mirror, Gilbert." Karen said.

He step up and look in the nearby mirror. There were a big scar over his right eye, seemingly by the sword attack from his enemy. He also noticed another thing: his right eye, was now different. It looked…unnatural. The color of his right eye was now gold.

"We found that your right eye couldn't be saved, so we installed a new eye for you." Hans said.

"How did you do it?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, when we inspected the lab, we found a way to transport things to the places that we want, using that machine, sort of teleportation. But it needs a very high electric power. Maybe that explains why the lightning strike brought you to that world. After seeing the situation, we decided to teleport some medical machines so we could conduct an operation to install the new eye for you. From our latest technological breakthroughs, it can give back the sight of those who have gone blind. Many blind people have this done on them," Hans explained.

"Wait, where do you have the doctors to do it? And why you decided to give me a new eye? It must be very expensive, and…" Gilbert asked, but was cut short.

"I'll tell you something. I have connection to a group of intellectual peoples. The government pays the group to invent things, sort of a research team. I just happened to bring them something to make a technological breakthrough, so they agreed to help us." Hans said.

"So, the government knows what we do now?" Gilbert asks again.

"No, they said that the government only cares about the inventions, since they can't work while being watched," Hans said. "They're now trying to recreate the PS2, especially the power supply and the teleporter. They said that the power supply's made of something they've never seen before. If they can recreate it, then there will be another new good portable power supply. They want the teleport technology for obvious reasons; makes humans life easier in many ways," He added.

"Wow…Never thought that there was a kind of organization…" Gilbert said.

"They're honestly curious about where the hell that machine come from as much as I am. They still can't figure it out until now, since they're more concentrating on the technology that they can salvage," Hans said. "They have gone to the creator of the game's office, trying to investigate something about this, but the creators do not know anything, but one fact we know of; the story writer is missing, can't be found anywhere. Strange, eh?"

"Yeah…Have they found a way how to get me home?" Gilbert asked again.

"Unfortunately, no. As they found out, the teleportation is one way, we need to make another device, teleport it to your place, and then you can go back here," Hans said. "They also found that the power supply constantly sends energy to your PDA. Your PDA died out for some time when they disassembled the machine, right? That's why."

"I see…I wonder how to I'll tell my parents about all of this…The scar…Missing classes…" Gilbert said.

"About that, I have phoned your parents and said that you're on a trip with me out west for some refreshing. I'm glad that your parents know me well," Billy said.

00000

"Gilbert?" A woman's voice came from behind Gilbert. It's Laura. She immediately got up and hugged him, crying tears of joy.

"Gilbert! I'm really glad that you woke up! I almost thought that you would never open your eyes again…I'm afraid that I'll lose someone important to me again…" She said.

"Um…I'm happy that you were worried about me, but can you please release me? It's kind of awkward…" Gilbert said. Laura released him, blushing.

"Sorry, I lost a bit of control…Sorry about your eye and scar, I can't heal it…"

"No, that's all right. Thank you, Laura. I might have been dead already if it weren't for you healing me," Gilbert said. "Can you tell me what exactly happened after I went down?"

"Well, after you got attacked, a big black robot that we fought earlier held the android down. Croix said to me to go to you quickly, since you didn't look too good from up there," she answered. The explanation took some time.

"… and you got sleep for about three days. Your friend told me that you would be okay, but I was very worried. You kept sleeping…"

"They will be coming back here, right? I mean Croix and the others."

"Yeah, he said that when he comes back from Metafalica, if your condition has gotten better, they'll pick you up," Laura said, "Rest up Gilbert, you just recovered..."

"Sorry, but I can't. Three days of sleeping is already enough rest for me. Now time to…"Gilbert started to say something, but was quickly interrupted by his stomach growling loudly. "…Sorry," he added, but Laura merely smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll make a lunch for you!" she said, and then quickly went to the kitchen.

00000

"Let's pray that her cooking won't end up like Luca's, or you're screwed," Josh said, laughing a bit.

On the screen, Gilbert sat back on the bed now. "Now I wonder how to get back those machines back…I think Croix won't be too happy see all these in the room…"

"Now you gave me a new problem. That machine's worth more than millions of dollars, you know. But I think the group already considered risk of losing some of their stuff. They really value new technology, so… But I agree about Croix, he won't appreciate seeing those machines all around. I'll ask them how to disassemble those things so we can move them somewhere; they should have a blueprint or two," Hans said, and then went into another room.

00000

"Here you go Gilbert!" Laura said as she brought two plates full of food. She gave him one of them. It looked normal, rice with round meats, Gilbert assumed that the meats came from cans. But still, he loved the smell of meat well done, canned or not.

00000

"Hmmm…This is making me feel hungry too…"Josh said.

"You just ate breakfast one hour ago and you're still hungry?" Karen said disbelieving.

"I'm a big man, what do you expect?"

00000

Gilbert took a spoonful of the meal and ate it. It was delicious, maybe because he liked meat.

"This tastes good Laura! Where did you learn how to cook?"

"Back when I still lived with my parents, my mother was a good cook. I wanted to become a cook like her someday. She was taught me since I was little…" She said slowly, like opening back her sweet past memory.

"Your parents, they taught you very well, didn't they?"

"Yeah…They taught me many things that I know…"

"Uh, sorry…" Gilbert quickly said, worried that he had brought up the painful memory of when she was infected by IPD.

"No, its okay, I already got over it. Croix said it's okay that we use some of the food here until he comes back, so don't worry about that," Laura quickly changed the topic.

Gilbert soon finished his meal, and then took it to the dishwasher.

"Wait, you will wash it yourself? I'll help," Laura asked.

"No thanks, I usually do it myself, back before I wound up here," Gilbert replied, and then went to the dishwasher. Laura quickly finished her meal and followed him inside.

"You lived alone back then?"

"Yes, I was told by my dad to get things done on my own because I was a man, so I live alone in an apartment."

"You don't get tired or feel a bit lonely by that?"

"Not really, I'm used to it; I don't really feel lonely because I know my parents support me somewhere. Besides, I was the type of person that doesn't easily get along in crowds. I more like do things alone," Gilbert said, then put his clean plate on a shelf, and went back into the bedroom, checking if Hans had gotten the blueprint yet.

00000

"Ghost, I got the blueprint. It's really complicated, though. They also sent in an engineer to assist you with disassembling the parts, so you won't get confused. I also nearly banged my head just by seeing the blueprints." He said.

Gilbert nodded to him, then Hans stood up, and a man took his place.

"Okay, first try to loosen some sockets…" The engineer said.

00000

**Two minutes later**

Laura came to the bedroom after hearing noises.

"Gilbert, what are you trying to do?" She asked.

"Disassembling the machines, so I can move it to downstairs. I think Croix won't like seeing these machines in his room, right?" Gilbert asked.

"Let me help you, it'll be faster if I help. I know that you want to do this alone, but, please let me help you…" She pleaded.

00000

"Let her Ghost, don't turn down the girl's offer," Billy said.

"And also she sounds really wants to help you…" Karen inserted.

"Alright, alright…" Gilbert said.

00000

"Okay, you can help me, but don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

She quickly nodded and looked really happy.

"Now, loosen some sockets in that machine there…"

**Some Hours Later**

The machines were finally successfully taken apart. Gilbert put the parts into boxes, so that whenever he returned to his world, he could give the parts back to the support group to be reassembled.

"Thanks Laura, because of you I could finish this a lot faster."

"Don't mention it, it's not a big deal. We need to put these things downstairs, right?" Laura asked.

Gilbert and Laura started to move the boxes. Sometime later, the items were stacked up on the first floor, neatly done.

"This is the last box in the room, I'll bring it." Laura said from the bedroom at second floor to Gilbert who was in front of the stairs below. She started on her way, but when she came to the steps, she stumbled and fell down. The box was flung to the floor, making some parts fly out.

Laura opened her eyes, feeling no pain. It turned out that she landed on Gilbert, who had caught her in time. Her lips however, are locked to his.

They were blushing madly, but she didn't move for a while. Inside she was actually enjoying it. He, on the other hand, was stunned and didn't know what to do or say.

"Gilbert! Laura! We got here to…" Cocona rushing in energetically, but stop in her tracks, along with Croix and Leglius.

He thought, 'I'm so dead now.'

**END OF CHAPTER 14**


	15. Chapter 15

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 15 = Back to the Party

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**13****.00 Croix's House**

Laura quickly got back from Gilbert, then they both stood. He started to quickly explain to the party what had happened to put them in a...compromising position, but before he could, three ladies comes in the house. He recognized Lady Cloche and Luca, but the other one didn't look familiar. The Dive Therapist was carrying the blonde Maiden, who looked to be very ill.

Gilbert quickly asked Croix what happened while Luca carried Cloche upstairs, with Cocona right behind her.

"I don't know what happened, either," Croix replied.

"I hope that she'll be fine soon."

"Me too." Croix then noticed something very different about Gilbert. "What happened to your eye?"

"Well…" The Earthling then explained that his right eye was destroyed in the battle with the android and had to be replaced. That lead into the story about the mechanical parts that had to be stored away.

"That explains these boxes, " Croix said.

Gilbert turned his attention to the new girl in the party. He observed her quietly. She had long, black hair and was wearing a suit that looked pretty hi-tech. What caught him by surprise, though was something that, until now, he had not seen in this world: a flat chest.

"Who's she?" He asked.

"She's Jacqli," Croix replied, then told Gilbert all about the events since the attack. The party had found her on Metafalica. After a while, she had taken Luca's Heart of Gaia. Some time later, the party had gotten Luca's heart back. In the end, Jaquli agreed to join forces with the party.

"So she is the one inside that black robot," Gilbert said, then greeted her. Her response was in a rather lazy manner. He then noticed something else...

"Where's Amarie?" Gilbert asked.

The ex-Grand Bell Knight explained that she left, feeling that Leglius didn't trust her. He then looked at the older man and spoke.

"Captain, are you sure we want Amarie to leave? I mean, I was suspicious of her, too, at first, but I think we can trust her now."

"I think so, too. Now that the Grand Bell has fallen, her being a spy is ancient history," Leglius said, earning him a puzzled look from Croix.

"Then why did you say all that?"

"Because there's no reason for her to still be keeping secrets; why she's with us, what her purpose was, why she wants to stay with us... There's no need to hide it anymore, yet she keeps planting these seeds of suspicion around herself." He paused a while. "Who's the one that doesn't have trust?" He added.

"Captain…" Croix said, unable to respond with more than that. At the same time Cocona came down from upstairs.

"You like her, huh?" Jacqli asked Leglius with a smile that looked more like a grin, if she was even capable of grinning.

"Who!" Leglius responded in a way that amused Gilbert.

"What are you talking about?" Cocona asked, having no idea what the others were discussing.

"This conversation has nothing to do with kiddies like you." Jacqli answered.

"I'm not a kiddy!" Cocona quickly said, making Gilbert chuckle.

"Cocona, how's Lady Cloche doing?" Croix asked.

"She doesn't look too good. But, Luca said she's gonna stay with her for a while," Cocona replied.

"I see…" he said slowly. Leglius then walked to the door.

"I'll look and see if we can get some support," he said, and then went outside.

Gilbert then turned to Croix.

"Well, speaking about support, I'll rejoin the party, my condition is much better now."

"Are you sure? You can be hurt again or even killed." Croix asked.

"Well, as long as I still am in this world, I'll support you. You see, sitting and waiting won't bring me back to my world, but in helping you, maybe I can stumble onto something that can."

"Alright. You too, Laura?"

"He's been recovered now, so I also will be helping you again!" She replied.

"Fine then…Oh, where are your weapons, Gilbert?" Croix asked.

Gilbert looked at Laura.

"Um…It got broken when you fall down back then." Laura said slowly. Croix sighed.

"So you'll go back to Cynthia again?" He asked the Earthling.

"Mayb-"Gilbert started to say, but got cut by a beeping sound that came from his pocket. He then took out his little machine, talking in some language that the party didn't know. He then put it in the center of the room. A man's voice could be heard. Croix remembered who it was: Billy.

"Hello there! We already know that Gilbert's guns got broken back before, thanks to Laura telling us, so we decided to teleport in the goodies rather than him make it himself. Saves more time that way."

"Make sure to include some ear covers, he couldn't stand the big noise made by the biggest gun before!" Cocona said, referencing to Vera.

"Of course Cocona! Oh and don't expect us to frequently teleport in things; each time we do, we need a very big amount of power," He said. A man beside him gave the thumbs-up sign. Billy yelled, "Stand clear from the center of the room! We don't want a telefrag accident!"

"Telefrag?" Croix said, not understanding the meaning of the word.

"It means to get killed by a transporter. They don't want to teleport the things INSIDE your body," Gilbert said with emphasis.

After a while, some objects plopped into the room.

"Hmm, that's a lot that you're sending in," he remarked.

"Of course, we want to make sure that you are armed to teeth," Billy said.

"Hey, if you can send things to here, you can already bring Gilbert back, right?" Croix asked.

"Unfortunately, we can't. To bring Gilbert back, we need to create another machine similar to the one that brought him there, teleport the machine to Gilbert, then use it to bring back Gilbert to our world. Oh, and before you ask, the machine cannot teleport itself in, we already tried that," Billy said.

Gilbert looks at the weapons; they looked similar to the ones he used before.

"We decided to not change your weapons, because we think that you're already proficient with them. You'll work better with something that's familiar to you, right? We made some changes to your anti-materiel rifle though, check it out."

Gilbert then grabbed a big rifle that looked like Vera. He noticed right away that it was bulkier, yet lighter.

"That's another M107 rifle, but those crazy weapon scientists managed to augment the weapon with the silencer that works in the same way as your old P90. In other words, a freaking silenced anti-materiel weapon. Crazy,eh? Of course, the sound from when the Mk211 bullets explode cannot be silenced, and you still need to watch out for the recoil. Laura already told to us that once your shoulder was broken before from firing that," Billy explained, translating Josh's explanations on the weapons.

Gilbert then took out a book and looked at the title It was written in English: 'Artificial Eye: User's Manual'. Billy then spoke in English, in order to make sure that others didn't understand his next statement.

"You see, your new eye was a military prototype of the medical version. The organization wants to test it, and there are people that will record your performance with it. Think of this as a payment for your new eye."

Gilbert nodded to Billy, who resumed talking in the party's native language.

"Read it, the book contains information about your new eye, including how to use it and more."

"Wait, you said that there is a manual? Isn't it only for how to see with the eye?" Croix asked.

"Croix, with that new eye, he can see what normal people can't see normally. For example, a telescope feature, heat vision, night vision, can see through objects-" Billy explained.

"Wait, did you said see through objects?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, it was a new tech that was allowed to detect living objects in limited range…" Billy said, and then realized what she meant. He continued, "…And project it in a silhouette, so he can't peep with that."

Gilbert facepalmed. 'Why did he have to add that about peeping with it? It's not like I'll use it for "personal" use or anything...'

He then looked at the rest of the objects: a black upper suit, a black long coat, and a pair of black sunglasses.

"Karen personally decided that you should wear those, since she says that you running around in torn clothes, covered by body armor is… unappealing. Also, the sunglasses can cover your golden eye," Billy said while muttering in very low voice, "Women..."

Gilbert then picked them up, then went into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he came out, wearing all of them.

"Wow, you look cool, Gilbert!" Cocona said.

"Really? I never really mind about my clothes, cool or not, as long as it is comfortable to wear."

"Keep using the sunglasses even in the night. Remember, your vision is augmented. You will catch Sacred Army's attention with your unnatural eye, at least that's what Karen said. Though in my opinion...wearing sunglasses at night catches more trouble," Billy said, "That's all for now. If you need any more weapons or something like that, we'll try to teleport in that to you, provide that if we have power to waste. Anything else that you want to ask?" He added.

"Nah. Maybe later." Gilbert replied, and then took the PDA and put it to the pocket. Soon afterwards, Leglius returned.

"How is it?" Croix asked him.

"The Grand Bell has completely switched over to Targana's rule," Leglius bring the bad news.

Gilbert was puzzled. 'Didn't Croix join the Sacred Knights? Maybe something happened while I was knocked out.'

"We won't be able to ask for support. We'll just have to go to Kanakana Pier on our own," Leglius added.

"Well, at least we brought two more people to support us!" Cocona said, referring to Gilbert and Laura.

"Yeah…But I got one question for you two, though…" Croix said, and then turned to the pair and asked, "What do you doing earlier so you two end up kissing?"

The look of the two of them turning bright red was priceless.

00000

Billy was literally rolling on the floor, laughing. The others were also laughing at the expression that Gilbert and Laura gave, including anonymous people that were seeing the scene via the chat room.

"And that is epic," Billy said while laughing. Never had he thought that they would have produced such gold comedy.

"Oh well, this is good for them though. Their relationship should be stronger after this. I hope...if Gilbert not choosing to distant himself to her after this," Hans said.

"Nah. He won't, I know him." Billy replied.

"This will be good. If nothing disturbs them, they should be attached to each other quickly. The problem will be afterwards. We need to create a hub or something that can connect us to Infel Pira through Laura, Gilbert's PDA, and the PS2, in that order, to insert our own song magic. Even if we have connected to it, we still need to decrypt the information so our computers can run freely into it," Billy added, referring to his plan to insert customized song magic.

"It's like hacking Mac using Win XP, Major…no, more like hacking Mac using DOS or even ENIAC, since their server much more advanced than us if the information from the game is correct," Hans said.

"Besides, I doubt that Laura will let us use her to connect to Infel Pira. Really, why do you really want to do this Major?" Karen asked.

"You see, if you have a theory, it's satisfying to prove it right. This is the only chance that I've got. Besides, it'll help Gilbert too if I'm right," Billy explained.

"I see…I hope this won't involve breaking any barriers…"Karen said, referring to the next event that may very well happen...

END OF CHAPTER 15


	16. Chapter 16

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 16 = Way to Go, Cocona

Author's Note: Laura is OC, I didn't take it from the 100 names that NISA/GUST used for IPDs, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is a Laura on the 100 IPD names, since I just think of a name and use it, really.

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**21****.00 Croix's House**

The girls were chatting with each other on the second floor, inside the bedroom, although Jaquli didn't say much. They were trying to keep their voices low, so that Lady Cloche wouldn't be awakened.

"…By the way, I hear that you kissed Gilbert this afternoon, Laura." Luca said. Laura's face turned red again.

"Ehhhh? I already tell that it's only an accident! Where did you hear this?"

Cocona humming while looking away. 'It must have been her.' Laura glared at her.

"So, how was it? Did it feel good?" Luca asked.

"Um…To be honest, I actually like it…It was my first kiss…" she replied while her face became even redder. She felt that she could faint at any time.

"And you like this guy, don't you?" Jacqli asked.

"Well, how to say this…" Laura mumbled, her face now looking as red as a tomato. "After what he has done for me, it's hard not to like him. I…it's hard to say it…" She added.

"You better confess to him, or he'll never know your feelings," Luca said.

"I know, I know, it's just…right now, the time's not right…Maybe later when thing have settled down…" Now, Laura was confused.

"But maybe he'll go back to his land when it comes!" Cocona said.

"I…I…" Laura mumbled again, and then fell down to floor. It looked as though she had fainted from all of the confusing facts about her situation.

"Oops," Cocona said.

**10.00 Dreamy Fields**

The party arrived at Dreamy Fields, a very big open land with some rocks, trees and a railroad.

"So, we follow this railroad?" Gilbert asks.

"Yes. Is there something wrong with that?" Croix replied while the party walked along the railroad tracks.

"Not really." Gilbert said, remembering how he nearly got hit by a train when he first came to this world.

**15.00**** Dreamy Fields**

"Is it just me, or is this railroad is very long?" Gilbert asks.

"Well, this is a railroad, it won't be normal if it is short." Lady Cloche said.

"But somehow I feel that we maybe walk on the wrong way…" Gilbert said.

After some more walking, Cocona noticed that something was wrong.

"Huh? I think we walked by this place earlier." Cocona said.

"That's your imagination." Croix replied, assuming, but Cocona insisted.

"Nooo! That's not true! That signal on the side of the railroad is the same as before." Cocona said in higher tone. She is serious.

Gilbert looked at the signal. It indeed looked the same. He then sat down on the railroad tracks. It was tiring to walk for some time, then discover that the effort was futile, and the weight from the arms he was carrying didn't help matters either.

"It's most likely... that these tracks connect to nowhere." Jacqli commented making another assumption to Gilbert's mind.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Croix asked, not understanding her.

"I read that Kanakana Pier was a Teru town. If that's true, then Teru magic might be causing us to be walking in circles."

"Magic! Oh please, don't be talking about fairytales." Cocona said.

Gilbert facepalmed right as she finished saying the last word.

"Cocona, I found your word somehow disturbing me,"Gilbert said.

"What? Why?" Cocona protest, demanding an answer.

"First, there must a reason why song MAGIC has 'MAGIC' as part of the word. And then, if you see all the Reyvateils cast song MAGIC, why do you don't believe MAGIC? MAGIC is not a fairytale! MAGIC does exist! Even if they work differently, there is MAGIC!" Gilbert emphasized his words, especially magic, and then was followed by a roar.

"He has a point." Leglius said.

"Gilbert, are you okay?" Laura asked

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…overexcited. I feel much better now. Sorry, Cocona, for yelling at you," Gilbert said after he calmed down.

"Besides… what are the Teru anyway?" Croix asked Jacqli. She then proceeded to explain. "The Teru are a rare species that are different from humans. They usually have horns and a tail."

"You mean like, the Dive Shop workers?" Croix asked.

"Yes, the Dive Shopkeeper is a Teru." Jacqli confirmed.

"So those horns and tail are real! I thought it was a part of their uniform!" Cocona said, amused.

"That would make a horrible uniform." Croix replied.

Jacqli continued her lecture. "The Teru tribe has a different civilization from humans. They also had abilities that humans couldn't use, like teleportation, flying, charming, and can even make wishes comes true."

"Wow... that's kind of cool. So the Dive Shop people are actually pretty amazing!" Cocona remarked, once again amused by Jacqli's story.

"Well, yes, I guess. Anyway, if we keep walking through this field, we won't reach Kanakana Pier. I'll bet 100 Leaf on it," She said.

"I don't care about the cash... what should we do?" Croix asked.

The party thought for a while about how to reach Kanakana Pier.

"Want to use an airship and fly through the sky?" Leglius asked, getting an idea.

"We're sneaking past the Sacred Army, and you wanna try to do it in an airship? I mean, how are you going to get one in the first place?" Jacqli tossed the idea aside.

"I know, I know, but..." Leglius grumbled and went back to thinking, while muttering about how Amarie went to Kanakana Pier.

"Isn't there anyone else who might know more details about this place?" Jacqli asked.

"Maybe the residents nearby... Reisha!" Leglius exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, Ms. Reisha might know something. Let's go visit her." Croix said.

Gilbert stood up and went with the party to their new destination.

**17****.00 Luca's House**

The party arrived at Luca's house, but they became shocked on what they found: the front of the house was painted with graffiti. On closer examination, they were angry words. It seemed like an angry mob had come and rioted here.

"What's going on here!" Croix demanded.

"That's so mean! Who did all this!" Cocona screamed. The party then hurried into Luca's house, hoping that Ms. Reisha was okay.

Inside they found her, looking just fine. Ms. Reisha's face lit up when she saw Luca, seemingly glad that the younger girl was all right.

"Luca! Welcome home!" Reisha said.

"I'm…Home…" Luca replied, and then went upstairs. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room for a while, until Croix start talking.

"Ms. Reisha, what's with all the graffiti outside!" Croix said. Gilbert felt some anger in his words, aimed at whoever the offender was.

"Oh, that. I guess some people just don't have a heart. Don't worry about that. You're just gonna waste your time," Reisha replied, trying to calm him down.

"But…" Croix protested

"That graffiti... it's because Metafalica failed, isn't it?" Lady Cloche asked, bringing about another uncomfortable silence in the room.

"I said don't worry. Nails that stick out get hammered down. That's just how the world is, whether it's good or bad," She said, trying to break the silence.

"I guess. Anyway, are you feeling better now?" Croix asked.

"Yes, thank you. Amarie took very good care of me," She replied, "Oh, speaking of which... She stopped by the other day."

The party shocked at her words. She then said that Amarie was going to Kanakana Pier.

"Why that little!" Leglius cursed. Croix was surprised by his captain's reaction. "Croix, we have to hurry after her!" He said.

"Wait. Are you going to repeat yourself again?" Reisha told him.

'Again? Has this happened before? Maybe something with his past, something that I should don't bother too much. Besides, I can ask Billy later about this if this is important somehow' Gilbert thought.

"What do you mean?" Leglius said, puzzled.

"Come on, let's go for a walk." Reisha told him, and they both went outside, destination unknown.

"So…" Gilbert started, "I wonder what they're talking about."

"Yeah…" Croix replied.

"Of course they'll talk about that girl, how come you can't get it?" Jacqli said.

The atmosphere was once again clouded with uncomfortable silence. Gilbert tried to break the ice, but couldn't find any good topic.

"I'll go outside for a while," Luca said after she came down from upstairs, and went outside. No reply from anyone. It seemed like everyone's had duct tape on mouth, until finally Gilbert spoke.

"Um, Jacqli, about your clothes, did you make them yourself?" He asked.

"Hm? It was made by Spica. What do you want?" She retorted.

'So she knows the woman who I bought some chemicals for tranquilizer darts in Etna?' He thought and looked at the other party members. He saw no shocked responses from them. 'Maybe she already told them? Maybe the party already came to Spica's shop to get medicine while I was knocked out?' He then decided to throw the thoughts out and quickly answer her.

"Maybe…Just maybe…My friends back there could make one for me if they can study them." Gilbert said. Cocona suddenly burst out laughing.

"Um…Cocona?" Gilbert looked at her.

"Sorry Gilbert, but imagining you in Jacqli's suit…"Cocona said before laughing some more. Gilbert thought again about what she meant, and then got the implication.

"Ew." He said, once the mental image came into his mind. Lady Cloche then could not hold it in anymore and laughed. Somehow, this made the rest laugh too.

Gilbert facepalmed. 'If I had a reputation, it's ruined now.'

After a while, the laughter died down.

"Way to destroy my reputation Cocona. Thanks," Gilbert said.

"Aw Gilbert, I was only joking…" Cocona said, and punched him in the shoulder. "Think it as a payback for yelling at me back at Dreamy Fields."

"Yeah, yeah. We're even now," Gilbert says, smiling. At least Cocona succeed breaking the ice. And he got a priceless view of Lady Cloche. He had never seen her laugh before.

"If you want to study about my suit, you should talk to Spica, although I doubt that they can make one," Jacqli said, as a matter of fact Oh well. The support team should be watching him by now, which means they already noted that Gilbert wanted armor like Jacqli, and they should know what to do when the party next came into Spica's store.

But he remembered that they publish all of the observations, including Cocona's implications, to the webchat. Which was watched by many people on the internet.

Oh no.

He cannot imagine the consequences. There would be edited pictures of Jacqli with his face. And then there would be meme spewing out of it. One thing was for sure: he was ruined now.

'Way to go to destroy my image, Cocona'.

END OF CHAPTER 16


	17. Chapter 17

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 17 = The Goldeneye

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**19****.00 Luca's House**

The party had dinner together with Ms. Reisha on the first floor. Gilbert finished his meal first, and excused himself to go to another room.

"Why so fast, Gilbert?" Ms. Reisha asks.

"Sorry, I need to study something important. It's about my new eye," Gilbert said, and took out a book, showing it to her.

"New eye?" Ms. Reisha and Lady Cloche both looked puzzled. Gilbert took his sunglasses off and showed both of them what he was talking about.

"Oh…Alright then." Ms Reisha said, a bit surprised by his eye. He then went to upstairs.

"Since when did he have that?" Lady Cloche asked.

"Since he lost his original eye back at Grand Bell. You didn't notice that?" Laura said.

"No…It was hidden by his sunglasses. I thought it just for his new looks."

00000

Gilbert found himself a place to sit, and then started to read the book.

'Chapter 1: Introduction to SE-000001. SE-000001 (later referred as the Goldeneye) was at first developed for medical purpose, which is…'

00000

'…The Goldeneye draws its power from the user's stamina. The usage is not really noticeable, but it draws much more power if any of the military utilities are used. So the user may feel more exhausted if any are used for a long time, especially using multiple utilities at once. If the user is near complete exhaustion, the utility will be auto turned off, and cannot be turned on until the user has recovered or overrides the system. *CAUTION: Overriding the system by the user may cause several unwanted issues, use only as a last resort*'

Gilbert thought that this means he must use his eye's utilites sparingly, since being exhausted in the middle of the battle was the last thing that he wanted to do.

00000

'…When activated, by reading signals that come to the brain, the Goldeneye can detect damage that is inflicted to the users, and then predict the source of whatever that damaged the users. Keep in mind that the Goldeneye can only predict where the source of the damage and not the actual source of damage. E.G If the user is got shot in the right leg, the Goldeneye will tell that the user got hurt in the right leg, from a piercing attack, and detect an unknown object stuck inside the wound.'

Gilbert had mixed feeling about this, since it seems that the utility was stating the obvious. But, he did not want to conclude that this utility was useless, since he had no experience with it as of yet.

00000

'…By reading sound signals that come through the ears of the users, the Goldeneye can predict where the source of the sound comes from, allowing locating enemy with ease. Remember that this won't work in area with too many voices or where the sound echo like in cave. Also, this utility won't work if the user has hearing problems or temporary deafened, E.G hearing a flash grenade.'

Gilbert thought that this also good, detecting enemy before the enemy can actually see him, but he didn't know what was meant by too many voices, maybe like a crowded place? He then decided to test it later.

'…Another utility featured is a speech detector. When activated, the Goldeneye reads even the slightest sound that ear catch, filtering it, and show in text what the enemy speak if they talked, even from relatively far range, or in another room. As a reminder, this utility won't work if the enemy's voice can not be heard. Again, this utility won't work if the user has hearing problems or is temporary deafened.'

He thought that this was also good in battle, if the enemy said something about their battle plan before attacking him, he can counter it much easier.

00000

'…Vision enchantment including target mark, nightvision, infravision, and terahertz imaging.' Gilbert continued to read.

'…When activated, The Goldeneye can mark important things like living beings, grenades, missiles, and predict the range from the user. Beware that it can't mark things while vision is hindered, E.G in the dark, but this can be circumvented by activating another vision enchantment utility while activating target mark, like nightvision.'

Gilbert thought that this will be useful for him in most situations, but he doesn't see any of the enemies using grenades in here, rocks maybe. But then, this eye is created for modern military purposes, so the grenade marker will be extremely useful in that situation.

'…The nightvision, when activated, is capable of amplifying light in dark places. This allows the user to see even in the dark. Keep in mind that this doesn't allow user to see in where there is no light at all, but user may use flashlight utility in that case.'

Gilbert thought that this would be a good utility; he would be like vampires that can see in the dark, except that he wouldn't be sucking blood.

'…The Goldeneye can detect heat when infravision is activated. This will make the user see creatures or hot objects easier. Be warned that steam is not good for infravision, since it's full of heat, and no, the user cannot see through walls, glass, even clothing.'

Gilbert thought that this is the utility Billy said when he said can see through walls, but he was proved wrong with this. So how can he see through walls then? He continued reading and found something interesting.

'…With the recent technological marvel, the Goldeneye can use Terahertz radiation to see through objects, although limited to some range. Best if use with sound detector and target mark to locate the precise position of the enemy if the user has enough stamina. This utility is still in testing stages, hopefully in later products, we able to increase the effectiveness.'

Gilbert wondered how far this utility could see through walls; this also needed to be tested…

"Gilbert!" Cocona yelled at him, right into his ear. He jumped up, surprised.

"Cocona! You almost give me a heart attack…Wait, why are you and the others here?" Gilbert asked when he saw Luca, Lady Cloche, Jacqli and Laura behind Cocona.

"We sleeping at upstairs, while you and other men sleep downstairs, did you forget?" Luca said.

"Huh? How long I was gone anyway?" He asked.

"About two hours? You seem very serious when reading that book; you didn't even reply when Cocona called you the first time," Laura said.

"Don't worry Laura, he always like that when he's thinking hard about something," Cocona said.

"Alright, I'll go back downstairs now," Gilbert said, then ready to go down. However, he stopped in his tracks, and went back.

"Before I go…Can you slap me, Cocona?"

Everyone was puzzled by his statement.

"Huh? Are you okay Gilbert?" Luca asked him.

"I'm fine. C'mon Cocona. Slap me," He said.

"But why?" She asked.

"Just do it, okay? Imagine that I had done perverted things, so slap me as hard as you can." He said.

"Like what?" She asked again.

"Um…What if I said that I'm staring through your clothes with my eye right now?" He said with a devilish grin.

*PLAK*

She slapped him. Hard.

'Detect damage.' Gilbert thought.

'Location: left cheek. Prediction: Damaged by a bludgeon attack. Wound level: Extremely low.' The eye told him the damage, also showed a diagram picture of a human, and highlighted the left cheek area.

'Oh well, at least the damage detector is working. But that was really a hard slap. Not what I expect from a girl. But then, she is capable of defeating monsters, so she must be really strong,' Gilbert thought.

"Thanks Cocona. Oh, and I'm lying about staring through your clothes, so don't worry," Gilbert said while smiling at her, and then went downstairs, leaving the girls confused.

"Laura, did he start acting weird when the eye was inserted?" Lady Cloche asked.

"No, I think he was fine. But I don't understand about asking for a slap…" Laura said, which confused them more.

00000

Gilbert went back downstairs and meet Croix, who was ready to sleep. He noticed that Gilbert has a bright red mark on his left cheek.

"What's wrong with your cheek, Gilbert? You got slapped?" Croix asked.

"Um, yes. I was asking for it though, to test my eye."

Croix didn't understand the connection between a slap and his new eye, but he just shrugged it off. He then went to sleep on a bedroll. Gilbert was also ready to sleep, but he wanted to contact the support team first. He got his PDA.

"Gilbert here," He spoke in Japanese.

"Yeah, we read you. Why are you using this language?" Billy asked, in Japanese too.

"To make me good in conversation skills using this language," He replied.

00000

"Why they refer Japanese as 'this language?'" Red asked to Hax, off-screen.

"They did?" Hax said, because he had no skill in Japanese. He thought for a while, and then he came up with a possible reason. "Maybe because they don't call the language Japanese in Pastalia, or something like that. Just in case if someone's hearing," He guessed.

00000

"Anyway, I have read the manual of the Goldeneye…Very complex I must say. They really made this for military later? Isn't it will be very costly?" Gilbert asked.

Billy talked with someone off-screen then came back.

"Hans said that yes, all the field test data will be sold to military defense. He also said that the eye is indeed very costly, but it's not like that the country doesn't have funding for something like this. He also said as for now, the visor already been made, and used for the elite special ops," Billy said.

"Yeah. Well, you got my request earlier about the suit?"

"We got it. Hans will ask some of the scientists to study them. It could be a boost to our powered armor technology. Although, what Cocona said was much more imprinted in my mind," He said, while laughing.

"Please, don't discuss about that anymore. It's already humiliating that she said it herself and it got broadcasted all over the chatroom," Gilbert sighed.

"Okay, okay…Rest well, Gilbert. You'll need it for tomorrow," Billy said.

"No advice for me tomorrow?"

"No, the scientist will monitor your combat capabilities with your eye. I'll tell you what to do when the time comes. Now, go get some sleep."

"Roger. Gilbert out."

00000

**07.00 Luca's House**

The party is ready to go, as Ms. Reisha told them what they needed to do next.

"Kanakana Pier is so close, but oh so far. There used to be a train that went there, but now you have to walk through the Dreamy Fields. But even talking through the fields won't take you directly there. Rumor has it there are caves in those fields, one of which will lead you to Kanakana Pier. It's only a rumor, but it's the only way you've got," She gave them the directions.

"Thank you. We'll keep an eye out for it." Croix said.

"Alright. Take care." Ms. Reisha gives her farewell. They then went to Dreamy Fields again, with a rumor to check on.

**09.00 Dreamy Fields**

The party wandered on Dreamy Fields again, looking for a cave. After some searching, Cocona seemed to find one.

"Here! I feel wind coming out of the hole!" She said. Gilbert looks at it. Not the one that he have in mind; dingy, dark, full of bats…

But then, what did he expect? He has come across a place with desert as a name, but consist of metal ground. These places really screw his…

*PLAK!*

Gilbert felt pain on the top of his head. He could easily guess who had hit him.

"Cocona! What was that for!"

"You were spacing out again while Jacqli blew open the cave in front of you!" Cocona yells at him.

"Eh? But I don't feel hurt or something." Gilbert said. He looks at the 'cave'. It was a lot bigger now.

"See, he can trust me more, compared to you," Jacqli said to Croix.

"That's a bad comparison…" Croix sighed.

"So, we're going in, right?" Jacqli asked.

"A dangerous choice..." Leglius muttered.

"It's quick and easy. Come on," Cocona said.

"Oh well, it's not like that we have another choice," Gilbert said. The girls and Gilbert went into the cave first.

"Either we don't have enough guts, or it's the other way around..." Croix said.

"Women are strong, that's all," Leglius remarked.

"AND ONE MAN." A voice can heard inside the cave. They can guess who yelled that.

"…It seems he heard you, captain."

"…Let's just go inside," Leglius said, not wanting to waste any time, then they went into the cave, not knowing what to expect inside…

**END OF CHAPTER 17**


	18. Chapter 18

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 18 = Captured, Not.

"Talks"

'Thoughts' (Also used for text related to Gilbert's eye)

*Sound Effects*

**09.35**

Gilbert observed the inside of the 'cave'. It had a very high-tech look to it. He looked around a bit, then let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Croix asked him.

"No hiding place for me. Not only that, but according to my judgment of this place, I feel we'll face up a robot-type enemy, which means it's time to use my big gun," He answered. This place provided nearly no cover to hide in, much less setting up a flank.

"How about if someone covers you while you're setting up your gun, like when we were on the Conductor Activator? Your friend said that the sound's already reduced, right?" Cocona suggested.

"Still, I need to steady myself to properly absorb the recoil produced and aim at the enemy. That takes time, and that's not counting the fact that my shot has a chance to miss. It'll be easier if I had a cover, because they won't expect where the shot is coming from, and cannot dodge it…Man, I feel like a burden here…"

"Gilbert, don't think like that. Think yourself as a part of the team, not outside of us. You're not only providing support to us, we'll aid you too, if you need it," Leglius said.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for the advi-" Gilbert was only able to say that much when a group of robots came to them.

"Save the compliment for later," Leglius said while he went into battle stance.

"Yeah, yeah…"

**09.55**

The party was now crossing some kind of big bridge made of metal. Gilbert thought, 'It's surprising how big this 'cave' can be.'

"Hey, Miss Jacqli. I was kinda curious about this. Do you know what it is?" Cocona asks, referring to the bridge.

"Obviously, this is a connector." Jacqli said.

"For what?"

"A coupler that connects to the Rim. The Rim is made up for 7 blocks, which are all connected together. And this is a coupler between each of those islands. This is what keeps the Rim together," Jacqli explained.

"We live on top of some pretty amazing stuff, huh?" Croix asked.

"Right. None of the places you live on now were meant for people to inhabit. 700 years ago, the builders tried to create a huge tower with land. This was their drafting tool." Jacqli continued.

"You mean like a ruler or protractor?" Luca asked.

"I suppose. You're on the right track." Jacqli confirmed her remark.

All of this made Gilbert a bit confused. 'Where did they get dirt, soil, wild animals, monsters, etc on this giant ruler?' He then decided not to think about it.

Leglius then yelled at the party to hurry, then they quickly resumed their journey.

**10.10**

"Hey, Miss Jacqli. What's this?" Cocona asked, pointing at the big metal ball thing.

"I don't know what this is." Jacqli admitted.

"I saw it as the Cat Mansion, too. That one was so bright and shiny. But I wonder why this one is dark." Cocona explained.

"Maybe it's broken?" Jacqli guessed. No one knew the answer, though.

"Come on, we don't have time to chatter. Hurry up." Leglius yelled at the party again.

'He's sure in a big hurry,' Gilbert thought as he followed Leglius, until he realized that Luca, Lady Cloche and Cocona were behind. They seemed to be talking about something. He can barely hear them, because they were far away. 'Good time to test something.'

'Activate Speech Detector' Gilbert thought. He then saw some text, in Latin alphabets, but was more like Japanese when pronounced.

'I see. So men get mad or cause harm to people they like, hm?' The text shown on the screen. By looking who was speaking right then, he could see that it was Lady Cloche.

'Um, well, not always, but...' That came from Luca.

'Hmm... They've so hard to understand.' Gilbert had an idea what they were discussing. Not all men were tsundere. He at least would not cause harm or get mad at people that he liked, because he knew it would drive them off more than attract them. He then saw Croix walking past him, calling to the ladies in the back.

"What are you doing! We need to hurry before something happens. Let's go," Croix yelled, then went back to his original path. Gilbert also continued to walk, until some new text appeared.

'He got mad at us!'

'Um, was he looking at me?'

'I need to go apologize to Cro later...'

'I don't think he was actually mad at you...'

'I see. So this is love...'

Gilbert facepalmed at their reaction, and then deactivated the utility.

"What's wrong?" Croix asked.

"Nothing, it's just that I heard something I shouldn't have," Gilbert said. Croix just shrugged and moved on.

**10:30**** Kanakana Pier**

After some walks and fights, finally the party arrived at the Kanakana Pier. The place looked pretty run down, with rusty metal all over the place. As the party stepped deeper into it, Gilbert could hear someone yelling, more like a battle cry. He could recognize that voice: Amarie.

"That voice..." Croix also heard it.

"Amarie! She's fighting something. Let's hurry," Leglius said. The party then rushed to the room where the sound was coming from. Gilbert also followed them, but stopped when he noticed that his PDA was vibrating. He took it and went to the chat room.

00000

"Ghost! Quick! Find a hiding place!" Major quickly said.

"Billy? Why?" He asked.

"Sacred army will be coming here in a few minutes! Now quick, find a hiding place!"

Gilbert looked around, trying to find a good place to hide…

00000

The party became surrounded by the Sacred Army and Chester, the white haired guy. Amarie asked him what made him so changed that he was no longer protecting her. He then told her about the Grand Bell's old project, The Ascension Project.

"Ascen... sion?" Croix asked.

"This world will abandon material existence, and become a civilization of spiritual minds. This world has lost its land and hope. Even the Goddess frowns upon its continued existence," Chester said.

"The Goddess!" Croix exclaimed.

"Well, she's right there. Who is she! What's going on here!" Amarie demanded.

"As long as we live on this world of substance, we will never be happy. That's why the Grand Bell has researched spirit relocation for the past 400 years, with the Goddess, and Her messengers!" Chester said.

"What is this spirit relocation! I've never even heard of this!" Lady Cloche said.

"Your regime was rebelling against Her. Of course you wouldn't know. Either way, it's not necessary for you to know," Chester replied.

"Spirit relocation means you will sleep forever, and live inside a dream," Jacqli said. Chester said nothing at her explanation.

"But that's... How is that any different from dying!" Croix yelled.

"Wake up, Chester! You're being tricked by someone!" Amarie tried to talk some sense into him.

"Actually, we are the least tricked people in this world, because this project was approved by the Goddess," Chester insisted, "As I said earlier, I would prefer not to kill any of you. I promise not to treat you harshly. Please, if you will, calmly follow me," he said.

The party then went along with him. They were surrounded with Sacred Army. It was impossible to win a fight here, and they knew it.

As they got ready to go out, a vanguard came to Chester.

"There's one more man reported going with them."

"It's okay; we already got what we want," Chester said. Croix heard this from behind and wondered if Gilbert had managed to escape from this ambush. They then went out, ready to take their captured party back to Pastalia.

As they walked to the hallway, Chester noticed something suspicious. Namely, there was a cardboard box in the corner of the hallway. There had never a cardboard box here before. He called a vanguard.

"Check that box."

The vanguard obeyed. He slowly came to the box and kicked it so that it turned upside-down. It was empty.

"Just my feelings…" Chester thought, then resumed walking.

00000

Ghost waited until silence covered the place. He then got out of a metal locker.

"Man, that was close. Good thing that I have that cardboard box as a decoy," he said.

"Yeah. Anyway, can you find a locked door made of metal that looks like a garage door?" Major asked.

Ghost wandered around the place, until he found one door that looks like what he was looking for.

"This one?" Gilbert asked.

"Yeah. Just a while."

He waited. He heard something being teleported in on the other side of the door.

"What was that?"

"There are many books behind that door. We teleported in some bots inside so they can read them and maybe salvage some technology from them. We know, because it'll open later." Major said.

"So…What I supposed to do now?" Gilbert asked.

"Now, go to Pastalia. Sneak into the Grand Bell and help Luca and Cloche later when they escaped through Grand Bell so you don't looks like deserted them."

Gilbert groaned. That meats he needed to walk back to Pastalia, alone, as quickly as he could before that event happened. Good thing that he had Goldeneye, he could detect and evade as many monsters as possible, since if he screwed up, no one could help him.

"Well, got any questions?" Major asked.

"How many enemies are in there?"

"Many. They'll get executed in public, so expect many guards. Don't worry about that, you should help them when they have freed themselves, and are wandering around Grand Bell. We'll help you track where they are," Major said. "Oh, and stand aside, we'll teleport some new things to you."

Gilbert looked at the hallway, and then two items materialized. One was a man-size black shield, and the other was a syringe.

"Let me explain this one," Hax said, "The military section of research of the organization has created a new ballistic shield for testing. They said that it's so strong that rifle rounds cannot pierce it."

"_All_ rifle rounds?" Pete asked.

"Dunno. That's what they tell me. But at least, this allows you to function like a vanguard when situation calls for it, especially after this," Hax said.

"He needs to learn how to shoot one-handed first if he wants to wield it with tranquilizer gun or the P90 though," Pete said.

"That can be worked out. What is this syringe?" Ghost asked.

"That's a batch of some kind of purified drugs, dunno. They said that it massively enhances your strength, speed, reaction, pain toleration, etc." Hax said.

"Some kind of steroid?"

"Yeah, sort of. They said, only use it as last resort or in a dangerous situation. They said the side effect to the lab rat was…Messy." Hax said.

"Use it only if I royally screw something up. Got it," Gilbert said.

"Alright, that's it. If you don't have any more questions, now start walking to Pastalia. Don't waste too much time," Major said.

Ghost then put his PDA back into his pocket, and started walking. 'This will be a long trip…'

00000

"I was kind of disagreeing with giving him that syringe…Drugs like that can never be good, especially it only been tested on rats…" Karen said.

"I too, but we need to give him a cushion if he somehow gets surrounded, or nearly beaten up, ambushed, something like that. We never know what will happen to him when he gets separated from the party," Billy said.

"Then why not let him get captured with Croix? They'll go out eventually, right?" Karen said.

"To be honest, that was Hans's idea to save him from being taken prisoner. He said that Ghost can't risk it, since they maybe could confiscate his equipment, like his PDA. That can make us not able to communicate with him. I agreed."

"Well, he does have a point…" Karen said.

"Let's just hope that we have made the right choice…" Billy said.

00000

**12.00 Mint Block**

Immediately after he gots back to civilization, he bought some supplies for his lone trip back to Pastalia. He didn't have much money so he only bought one-day's worth of food supplies. He called the support team.

"Ghost here; is this enough supplies for me?" he asked.

"Yeah. Bringing too many supplies will only burden you, and if you somehow really need emergency food, we'll teleport in some," Major said.

"Okay." Ghost sighed. "You know, I'll probably be easily exhausted on the trip. I ran half the way from Kanakana Pier until I got out of that damn cave. Those robots kept chasing me," He added.

"That's the consequences, without the party, you can't defeat the robots there...unless you fancy another broken shoulder from M107CQ," Major said.

"Yeah. At least there are no longer robots on the way back to Pastalia. I need to go to Ironplate Desert, right?' Ghost said.

"Well, you can take airships to go to Pastalia, but you can be risked spotted by the Sacred Army, even after you have changed your clothes. To be honest, with those clothes, you'll be marked as a suspicious person by them anyway. Better if you go through Ironplate Dessert." Major said.

"Alright, I'll go through there. Estimated Time of Arrival?" He asked.

"Around dawn, though if you fast enough, maybe on evening. Remember, we don't know when Targana will execute Luca and Cloche, so it's better if you get moving as quickly as you can. Remember your objective as you got there: Aid Luca and Cloche in their escape when they escaped to keep the party's thrust in you." Major said.

"Got it. Ghost out."

**END OF CHAPTER 18**


	19. Chapter 19

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 19 = Infiltration.

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**17****.00 Grand Bell Prison**

"It seems that he's successfully evaded capture," Leglius said, referring to Gilbert.

"So our chance of escaping now is to wait for Gilbert to free us…" Croix said.

"I doubt it. He doesn't know where we are taken to. Even if he does somehow know we're here, the security here is tight, and he does not know this area exactly. So he will think twice about if he wants to free us," Leglius said.

"Did we really can't do something to get out from here…"Croix mumbled. Laura however, sat in the one of the other sides of the prison, deeply in thought.

"Gilbert…I hope you are well now…Wherever you are…"

00000

**Ironplate Dessert**

Gilbert sat in a corner of the mazes, hoping monsters would not notice him. The trip back to Pastalia took much longer time than he thought, because he was evading every possible encounter with monsters. After all, if he got hurt in battle this time, no song magic would be around to save him, and he needed to be in good condition when the time came to infiltrate Grand Bell later.

"Damn… I need to rest a while…Those eye utilities drain up my stamina…" Gilbert said to the support team through his PDA.

"Rest up for a while, but not for too long. You're still halfway to Pastalia. At this rate, you'll arrive at Pastalia at midnight," Major said.

"Then getting inside the Grand Bell should be easier, because it'll be midnight. He'll use the back door to get inside, just hope that there are no guards on the way there."Pete said.

"But I doubt he'll able to stay awake if he's infiltrate at midnight. He's not a soldier," Red said.

"Well, how about this? Once he arrives at Water Mill, he'll sleep for a while in there? At least he'll need to go into there first," Major said.

"That's the craziest idea I've ever heard. Why not just rest somewhere safer, like at the slums, and then infiltrate Grand Bell in the morning? It's very risky to sleep while enemy guards, maids, monsters, or something like that's wandering around him!" Red said.

"It'll attract more people if he goes inside in the morning. He's not wearing a knight's uniform, so if he enters the Grand Bell through the back way, they'll get suspicious. Don't talk about going in using the front entrance, either; that's just stupid. If he's sleeping in the Water Mill, the sound of the machines should cover his presence, and no one's going to enter that room anyways...we hope," Major said.

Red just threw both of her hands up and gave up arguing with him.

"I doubt that I can sleep with machine noises, buzzing everywhere…" Ghost said.

"You can. If you really that tired, even with that sound around, you'll still able to sleep. The problem is to make sure you don't oversleep…" Major said.

"Oh well, better I get going now," Ghost said, and then continued walking through Ironplate Dessert…

00000

**23.00 Pastalia**

Finally after the long trip through Ironplate Dessert, he arrived at the Pastalia. He felt really sleepy, but he knew that he couldn't sleep yet; he had a job to do.

"Ghost here, I'm in Pastalia now. Where is the back door?" He asked. He saw on the screen that almost all of them were already going to bed; only Whiskey Pete was still awake.

"Yeah, I can see that. First, go the place where there is a giant trumpet in the middle. Oh, and activate your nightvision, I can spot some guards in the area. Good thing that your suit's all black, eh?" Pete said.

Gilbert remembered the area where there was a big statue in it. He quickly went there.

00000

One of the guards let out a yawn; graveyard shift never was good news for him; nothing really exiting happened in the night…

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Quickly, he turned around and used his flashlight to look for the source of the sound.

"Who's there!" He yelled.

The footsteps came from the other side of a building. He quickly walked there to check it out. Then he discovered where the sound came from: a man wearing all black, and he held a weapon in his hands. It seemed that the guard had been expected.

That was the last thing he saw.

*Frrrrwip!*

00000

Three bullets came out of Ghost's P90, and then a man is down. He could feel some blood that was splattered on his face.

"That was close. Now, continue walking to your destination," Pete said.

Ghost then kept walking, not wanting to dump or hide the body, because he will stain his clothes if he carry the body. Also, he did not dare to look at his victim's face. It was too disturbing for him.

After some walking, he finally arrived at the place with a giant trumpet in the middle. The place looked much nicer in the daytime, before he was rescued Laura.

"I'm at the destination. Where should I go now?" He asked.

"Find a path that you never walked on before. From your position, it is in front of you, behind the trumpet." Pete said.

Gilbert walked around the giant trumpet and found the path.

**23.20 Water Mill**

Gilbert continued to walk without look carefully at the place, he was too sleepy by that time. He kept walking through doors and hallways. After a while, he got another call.

"Stop there. That door will bring you to Grand Bell hall. You can sleep here now; wait until we tell you to enter Grand Bell. Whiskey Pete out. See you tomorrow morning," Josh said, then logged out of the chat room.

Gilbert then went into a corner, then unfolded his cardboard box and used it to cover himself. He would be sleeping inside it, and he hoped that if somehow an enemy went in while he was asleep, they wouldn't notice him.

'Very far from comfortable, but I really need a rest…' Gilbert thought. He closed his eyes. He felt cold from the metal floor underneath him, but slowly he drifted out of his consciousness, as his tiredness won out over comfort…

00000

**07.18 Water Mill**

Gilbert immediately woke up as he could feel the ground shaking violently. He then felt his PDA vibrating. It was from the support team.

"Finally you're awake! We have been waiting for you! Now quick, get inside the Grand Bell!" Billy said.

"Um…What happened?" Gilbert asked.

"At this point, Luca and Cloche should be already getting themselves free. Now, go help them, GO!" Billy said.

Gilbert immediately packed his cardboard box and ran through the door, getting inside of Grand Bell.

**Grand Bell Hall**

Gilbert quickly ran to the speech square, but he quickly hid behind one of the pillars; Targana and some Sacred Army Knights were going into the throne room.

"Damn, Luca and Cloche must be on the way to lift three now. Now, go there Ghost!" Billy said.

"Where!" Gilbert asked.

"Go to the room with a traditional lift. I'll guide you to there, now GO!" Billy said.

Gilbert was ready to go to there, but as he moved, he was spotted by a vanguard.

"Stop there intruder! Identify yourself!" He yelled.

Gilbert immediately turned to him; there were at least three vanguards and some Reyvateils. Gilbert wanted to say a swear word, but no time for that. Definitely too many to handle all by himself. There was only one solution to this: run.

"Hey! Wait!" A vanguard yelled as Gilbert ran towards Lift III with Major's help, hoping to meet Luca and Cloche. He had much better chance in battle if they were with him. He ran as fast as he could, not activating his eye utility, because he needed every bit of stamina that he had to run.

00000

Gilbert ran to lift III, with a squad after him. It was a good thing that no one was ready to catch him from the front. He somehow managed to dodge song magic that was thrown at him, by running in a zig-zag pattern.

After a while, he finally arrived, nearly out of breath. However, he received some bad news: the lift is in use, which meant that someone was already using it.

"Crap, Luca and Cloche maybe already go to Telmina now. Now you should go to Grand Bell Strike Hall, as you can't run to Telmina. They already are riding another lift to Bell Strike Hall. Run to there now!" Billy said.

"I…*pant*can't…*pant*run…" Gilbert said, as he already really breathless from the running. He could hear a squad, coming after him. 'Not good.'

Gilbert quickly thought over what he was going to do now. He knew he couldn't fight them all, especially in this condition. Running was also not an option, as he was already out of breath.

He had to stand his ground and fight.

He couldn't run all the time, it just wasted his energy. If he could take them out, he could make it to Luca and Cloche without running again.

But how? There were too many of them, and there wasn't any possible hiding place, since they were already alerted of him.

He then remembered something, the syringe.

He took it out and looked at it.

Yeah, maybe with this drug, he could fight them all. He didn't care of the side effects; he needed to win this battle first.

"Where do I inject this?" Gilbert said.

"Into your blood vein," Hans said.

The young man touched his arm to find his vein. It didn't take long to find one, as his heart was beating very fast now. He carefully injected the syringe into his arm. He cringed a bit in pain, but he had no time to cry out from it.

Then he felt nothing…

00000

Hans secretly gave a signal to a scientist behind him.

The person nodded and went into another room, filled with many computers and reading machines.

"The subject has used the syringe," The scientist yelled.

Quickly other scientists went to their positions and did something at the computer.

"His heartbeat is skyrocketing," A scientist said.

"Adrenaline surge detected," Another spoke up.

"Okay, record all of these readings. We may not have any other chance to test this medicine on a human." A voice of a man came out of a speaker in the corner of the room.

00000

Many Reyvateils and vanguards came to the front of Lift III now, ready to capture the intruder. 'Maybe he's related to the escaping maiden and the escaping prisoners. We'll know after we've captured him.'

The intruder was now standing in front of them. He seemed to have given up running. Finally they can catch him.

"Surrender, you cannot run anymore!" A vanguard yelled.

The intruder muttered in language they did not know. This never meant any good to them.

"Dammit, get into formation, it seems we need to neutralize this one by force!" one of the vanguard said.

The Reyvateils then began charging their song magic, and the vanguards readied their spears. The intruder then let out a howl, a very big and loud one.

One of the vanguard then charged at him, ready to shut him up with his spear. He stabbed at the intruder, but then the guard was dodged by stepping aside. The intruder then punched his enemy's face, really hard. He was sent flying by the punch, and then hit the floor with a loud bang.

One down.

The vanguard then took the spear that was dropped by the fallen comrade.

"Crap! Hit him all at onc…" The second vanguard started to say, until the intruder charged at him at inhuman speeds and stabbed him.

Two down.

The intruder then looked at the unguarded Reyvateil and threw his spear at her, taking her out instantly.

Three down.

He then grabbed another spear dropped by the dead vanguard and charged at another Reyvateil, but but a vanguard jumped into his path.

The vanguard's every attack was deflected. This intruder attack was rather clumsy, one can see that this man is unskilled in using spears, but covered by his unnaturally high strength and speed. How can a man this fast and strong?

As the intruder attacked ferociously, another vanguard managed to sneak behind him and stabbed him from behind.

*Clang!*

The vanguard who tried to stab him on behind staggered as his spear hit a hard object.

Did this man wear some kind of metal plate armor?

The intruder quickly turned to him and attacked him. He quickly dodged, as he already expected to be countered after his failed attack.

On the other hand, this left another vanguard free from this intruder's barrage of attacks. He thought that since his back is covered, he had to strike from the side, hoping that whatever that covering him would not reach him there. He maneuvered to the intruder's side and stabbed him on his right.

*Jrrtttt!*

The intruder just stood there unmoving.

Did they finally do it?

They had their answer as the intruder slowly smiled, then let out a big laugh.

The vanguard in front of him then got ready to strike at his laughing mouth. But before he could, he was quickly stabbed him in the stomach first.

Four down.

The vanguard that stabbed the intruder in the side watched in horror, then panicked as he pulled his spear out and got ready to stab him again. As he was preparing, the intruder quickly turned around and delivered a slash to the neck.

Five down.

The remaining Reyvateils then finally finished their song magic, and then threw them at him. Direct hit. Some smoke generated through the explosion. They did it, finally.

But their thoughts soon diminished as a spear flew from the smoke.

Six down.

The Reyvateils then looked at the standing man as the smoke was cleared; his clothes were burned from the song magic, but he did not seem to mind it. Half of his face had burns on it from their song magic.

But what they noticed the most was his black glasses were gone, maybe dropped somewhere in the explosion. The lack of glasses revealed the intruder's right eye, shining in gold color, looking at them with a scary, angry face.

"Damn, just die you monster!" A Reyvateil screamed as she to him and got ready to kick him, but as her foot flew to his face, he quickly grabbed it, banging her body to the nearest wall before pulling out a knife from his pocket and slashing her in the throat.

Seven down.

The splattered blood put out the fire on the intruder's body.

The last Reyvateil was now standing in fear. To her mind, this was definitely not human. All of her teammates had been taken out by this…demon. She quickly ran, knowing that there was no way to beat this demon.

As she started to run, the intruder charged at her, and put her into submission. He then choked and lifted her, then pinned her to the nearest wall.

"Now…Tell me…" The demon said to her. 'It can speak my language!' She choked, unable to breathe.

"What…Do you fear now?" The demon said as he looks into her eyes.

She let her tears flow and then started sobbing, hoping that her death would come quickly...

She then heard some footsteps coming towards them. Finally, reinforcements had come…But after they saw the horrors of the battlefield, they don't dare comes close.

"Let her go!" A Reyvateil yelled. She had to save her pinned friend, no matter what.

The man then looks at the reinforcements, revealing his golden eye.

They stood back in fear, but ready for battle. He then threw the Reyvateil that he had been choking to them, then pushed a button to call for Lift III.

A vanguard caught the Reyvateil, and was going to give the order to catch the man, but before he could, she stopped him.

"No…Don't fight that demon…You'll get killed…" She pleaded.

He understood and then let the man go. The man was going into lift III, and then the elevator went up. He then ordered to carry their dead allies, as he observed the place.

'What a mess…Did this really by one man's doing?' The vanguard thought.

00000

Gilbert sat down at the corner of the lift. The effect of the drug started to wear off, he could feel the pain. He barely remembered what happened earlier, what had he done to get this badly hurt? He sat down as he heard a song coming through him.

He really felt tired and sleepy now, but he fought it off, as he needed to find Luca and Lady Cloche first…

**END OF CHAPTER 19**


	20. Chapter 20

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 20 = Hibernation, Earth.

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**0****7.40 Lift III**

The support team could also hear Hibernation being sung, and then they predicted Luca and Cloche now walking at a slow pace to Strike Hall. But, they were now more worried about Gilbert, who was losing blood from the stab wound, and severe burns from the Reyvateils' song magic. They doubted if he could reach Luca and Cloche before dying.

"Dammit Ghost…If that medicine can give you that insane speed, why you don't dodge that reyvateil's song magic…" Billy asked.

"I assume when he got stabbed and not felt pain at all, he didn't bother to dodge that song magic. Apparently that medicine made him forget that not feeling pain doesn't mean he's invincible." Hans said.

"How about sending him bandages or something to treat his wound?" Billy asked.

"Well, I honestly think that he can't treat his wounds by himself in this state, but at least some simple bandages the stab wound will slow the bleeding," Josh said.

Hans then gave them a nod and ran, going to get a first aid kit.

"Gilbert, come on…answer our call…" Karen said, while sending buzzes to Gilbert's PDA. He didn't answer it. Either he was not bothering to answer it or he did not have the strength to do so.

Finally, Gilbert slowly took out his PDA. He could hear the team talking about something, but he did not understand that clearly as to what they said.

"Gilbert! Finally! Can you still walk?" Billy quickly asked.

"So…Hurt…" Gilbert slowly said.

"Alright, alright! Once you arrive at Telmina, we'll teleport you some bandages or something to treat these wounds. For now, use your jacket to cover that stab wound, okay?" Major asked.

Gilbert nodded and put his PDA to the side, so that he would not need to reach it inside his pocket again.

He took off his jacket, his weapons and equipment, then tied the cloth around his body, covering his wound. He wondered if he could actually make it to Luca and Cloche alive, or if these wounds could be healed by their song magic.

Hans came back with the first aid kit box, ready to teleported to Gilbert once he arrives at Telmina. He comes back with a worried expression on his pale face.

"Guys…I think you might want to see the television…I saw something bad on my way back…" He said.

"What is it about? We have a dying man here!" Billy asked.

"Hibernation…it's here. It reached Earth!"

The support team then went quickly to another room. It was more like a waiting room for the facility, with a TV inside it.

"…some kind of sudden Epilepsy? A virus attack? No one knows how this happened, but many of the people now appear to have become almost vegetables," the reporter exclaimed.

Then it showed the situation on the streets. Many people stood still, with blank eyes, staring at nothing. Many of the people who were still aware panicked, afraid that they would catch the apparent disease, and some of the others try to wake them up.

"At first this condition was reported to be present in low-mid economy class people some minutes ago, and spread out to other people shortly…" The TV report continued.

"Oh damn…" Karen said.

"Not good…Not good at all…" Josh commented.

"Have any idea what to do now, Major?" Hans asked.

"Well, the only one that connects us with Metafalls is the PS2…" Billy said.

"Destroy the PS2 now?" Hans asked.

"No! Gilbert is still in Metafalls! We must stay connected to him, or he's there for good! Besides, people's minds now are in Infel Pira, and we don't know what will happen to them if we do that…" Billy said. Then, he came up with a solution.

"Now, all we can do is wait. Hibernation will end as soon as Luca shouts to Frelia. It'll end without our interference," Billy said again.

"Then…Let's go back to teleporting the first aid kit to Gilbert. He should be arriving at Telmina now…" Karen said, then the support team back to the lab. Hans had something in his mind while he walked.

'This event won't be treated lightly by the board…I hope that it doesn't interfere too much with the project…'

00000

**Telmina**

'Detect…Damage…' Gilbert thought. Two readings were produced.

'Location: Right stomach. Prediction: Damaged by a sharp object, presumably stabbed. Wound level: High.'

'Location: Body, Face. Prediction: Damaged by fire. Wound level: Medium-High.'

Gilbert sat at the corner of the hall. He thought, 'When will the medical supplies come?' He began to remember something; the support team forgot to teleport the body armor that he wore before. If he had been wearing the armor now, maybe he woould not have been as badly hurt.

Almost as soon as he thought that, a box materialized in front of him, with a red-cross sign on the side of it.

'That must be the medical supplies.'

He slowly took it and opened the box. Inside it there were some medical implements. He hoped that at least this will keep him alive until he was healed by Luca or Lady Cloche.

"Quick, untie your jacket and replace it with the sterile bandage. We don't want infection getting into that wound." A voice comes from his PDA, namely Josh. He did as he was told.

"Gilbert, there are a spray inside that kit. That's for treating your burn wounds on your body and face. It won't completely heal it, but it's better than nothing," Hans' voice could be heard.

He sprayed it all over his body and the burned part of his face.

"ARGH!" Gilbert let out a short scream as the spray hits his burns. It felt like his injuries were now stinging.

"It stings a bit, but get over it. After you're done, immediately go to Strike Hall with lift IX. And fight off any urge to sleep, Hibernation is being sung now," Billy said.

"Isn't it better for him to wait here? I mean Luca, Cloche and other party who goes to Lakra must go here eventually and meet him. Besides, moving will increase the bleeding," Karen said.

"No, the faster he finds Luca and Cloche, the faster his wounds will be treated. Plus, Croix has enough burdens to carry two IPD's now," Billy replied.

Gilbert slowly stood up and walked to Lift IX, pushed the button that called it, and then sat down again. He felt really tired…

No.

He fought off the urge again. If he went to sleep now, his wounds would go untreated. Also, when Billy said Hibernation, did it mean that maybe if he slept now, he would never awaken again? This was getting him nowhere, but at least this would keep his mind working and him awake. Anyway...talking about minds…

"Hey…What…Happened…After…I….Use…Medicine…Can't….Remember…" He was trying to say something.

"You don't remember what happened after you used the medicine?" Hans asked.

Gilbert gives a weak nod. "Maybe it was the side effects. Well…"

Hans started to tell Gilbert what happened, but before he could do that, Lift IX's door opened.

"Go inside the Lift first. After a second, though, maybe we'll show you the video of your actions after you used that medicine," Hans added.

Gilbert slowly walked inside the lift and pushed the button to go up, then quickly sat down. He really hated the fact that he had to carry his heavy weapons and items in his injured condition, but he couldn't leave all his equipment. No one knew when he would be attacked, and in this condition he was a sitting duck. He had to at least retaliate when it happened.

00000

"I'm starting to get sleepy, too…" Josh said.

"C'mon, it's almost done…It'll be over soon…We don't know what'll happen if our minds get transported to Infel Pira…" Billy replied.

"I actually want to know what I see at that place…But I don't have the guts to do it. If something goes wrong…" Hans remarked, while laughing weakly. He wasn't taking this seriously, because he already knew how this will end.

"Luca…Shout at Frelia...quickly please…" Karen said.

00000

As Luca steps into Strike Hall, Targana that was kneeling at Frelia then stand up.

"Well well, Holy Maiden. I'm very happy to see you're doing well," He said, and then turned towards her, followed by his guards that were behind him.

"Thank you for all your hard work so that you can be killed here!" He added.

Luca knew that she must stop Frelia from continuing Hibernation, but how? She then shouted at her with all of her might, hoping for a miracle or something.

"Frelia!" She cried.

Amazingly, it worked. She stopped singing.

"I'm…Here…" Frelia said.

This really surprised Targana.

"What! Impossible!"

00000

The support team could feel it, they were not sleepy anymore. Hibernation had ended.

"Ah, it's over," Billy said.

"Really, we shouldn't be afraid of this, as we already know it will end, right? Kinda destroying the tension…" Josh scolded.

"What I 'm afraid of more is this mess on Earth. We all didn't expect Hibernation to reach here. Now I'm afraid that the next song that affects on the global level will reach here too…" Hans mused.

"And the government won't just sit and look. They must be trying to find out what has happened in the world, but as long as they don't reach one of us, they won't find a clue about this," Billy said.

Hans just sighed, he knew that government would be contacting the organization to research this incident. And it was just matter of time before they learned that the support team's doings affected the Earth.

"What's wrong, Hans?" Billy asked, looking at his worried expression.

"Nah, nothing important. C'mon, we need to look at Gilbert's progress now, he should be meeting Luca and Cloche soon, and they should be walking to Lift IX," Hans replied.

"Yeah. I hope he still have enough energy to walk…Although are we really going to show him what happened when he's under the influence? I'm afraid it'll make him sick of himself…" Karen said.

"There is no use in hiding the truth. I bet he'll soon find out by himself, when he encounters the Sacred Army again. Do you really think that he won't get some reputation after his stunt, killing a whole group by himself?" Josh said.

"But I'm really afraid of his sanity after watching that massacre…" Billy mumbles, worried.

00000

Luca was continuing to carry Lady Cloche back to Lift IX, so that they can go to Lakra. It was a good thing that she was saved by Shun, and informed her that everyone was waiting at Lakra's room.

As she kept walking, she heard another set of footsteps coming towards her. She stopped and let Lady Cloche sit down nearby, ready to fight if it was another Sacred Army guard. Slowly, it became clear where the source of the sound was. A man was coming, but not in Sacred Army's uniform. He was shirtless, covered in blood, and bandages covered some parts of his body.

The man slowly spoke as he walked towards her, and then looked at her. She recognized that golden eye that stared at her.

'It's Gilbert!'

"Luca…Finally…" Gilbert said, and then he fell down.

Luca ran to him. She looked at his face; many parts of it were covered in burns. Some of his hair was burned off too. If it hadn't been for his golden eye, she would not have recognized him.

"Gilbert! What happened to you!" Luca said.

"Try…Help…But…" He's trying to say something. Luca thinks that he needs to be healed _now_, but she needs to carry both Lady Cloche and Gilbert to lift IX first.

"Gilbert, can you move? We'll going to lift IX now," Luca said to him.

He gave her a nod, then slowly stood up, walking again. Before he could do that, Luca stopped him.

"Wait, I'll carry your things, okay? You're in no condition to bring all those alone!" Luca said, then took his weapons. The weight of them surprised her.

'How could he bring all of these with all these injuries?'

She then carried Lady Cloche again, and they started walking to Lift IX. It was really hard to carry both her and Gilbert's things at the same time.

Lady Cloche managed to take a glance at Gilbert; he was really messed up. Did he fight all the way to here? But she didn't think about it for long, as she was in bad shape herself.

As they arrived at Lift IX, Luca let Cloche lay down in the center of the room, and Gilbert sat at the corner of the lift. She pushed the button, and then the lift went down, back into Telmina…

END OF CHAPTER 20


	21. Chapter 21

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 21 = Boss Fight

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**Lift IX**

Luca continued using her Song Magic on Gilbert. Slowly, his wounds healed. However, they left marks that would not disappear. All in all, he now felt much better.

"Really, you went into the Grand Bell just to help us? It's much safer to you to wait somewhere!" Luca lectured him after he explained his actions.

"I can't. I am part of this team; I can't just stand here while watching you and Lady Cloche get executed. But in the end, I didn't help at all…"

"Please, don't say that Gilbert, you already tried hard just by coming here…"

"Anyway, what happened to Lady Cloche?" He asked.

She wanted to explain her own situation to Gilbert, but her attention went back to Lady Cloche, who was calling.

"Luca…" Lady Cloche said. It was apparent that she wanted to say something.

"Lady Cloche! Are you alright? Oh, I'm so glad. I thought you were gone for good." Luca immediately said.

"You… saved me… back there…Thanks…" She tried to say.

"No, you don't need to thank me…There was a part of me that still wanted to run away again," Luca honestly answered.

"Such… a Luca… kind… of answer… Hey… I… kind of had this feeling… Could it be…" Lady Cloche tried to say something again, but now the Lift had stopped and the door opened.

"We're here, Lady Cloche. Can you move?" Luca asked.

She nodded and tried to get up, only to be helped by the dark-haired Reyvateil.

"Luca, give me back my things, I feel much better now." Gilbert said to her. He could not let her be burdened even more by his stuff. She nodded and gave them back to him. He became burdened again, but not as bad as before, as he was already healed by Luca.

00000

**Telmina**

As they three got out from the lift, they met Croix and others, who were also walking to Lift VII.

"Croix!" Luca called out to him.

"Luca!" Croix exclaimed. He then walked straight to her.

"I'm so glad you're okay… I'm really glad…" She said.

Croix noticed Lady Cloche is now carried by Luca. "What's wrong with Lady Cloche?" he asked.

"When the Song began, she suddenly collapsed. Soope, too…" Luca explained.

Gilbert could not understand what the connection was between the song and her collapse. He added a mental note to ask about it later.

"What! Could it be that Lady Cloche is…" Croix started to say something, but stopped. This made Luca curious about his statement.

"Huh? What? What were you going to say?" She asked.

"I'll explain later. And who is…" Croix noticed there was a man behind her. The knight didn't recognize him at first, but once he noticed his right eye, he was able to guess who the man was. "Gilbert? How…"

"I tried to get into Grand Bell once I saw Luca and Lady Cloche were about to be executed. Long story."

"You really want to get yourself killed by coming alone…But thanks…" Croix sighed, "Let's go to Lakra's chamber."

They took Lift VII and went to Lakra's chamber. As they got inside, Gilbert noticed that Cocona and Laura are being carried by Leglius.

"They also collapsed when the song began?" Gilbert asked.

Leglius gave him a nod.

'Maybe it's affecting I.P.D? But what about Lady Cloche, she isn't I.P.D…or is she?' He shrugged off the thoughts, none of them were important now.

"Gilbert…" He heard a woman's voice. It was Laura's.

"She was mumbling your name since she collapsed," Amarie said to him.

He looked at her; wondering, 'Why is she doing that? Is my place in her heart that big? No, not now…This isn't time to thinking about that.'

**Lakra**

The place was really messed up, with Sacred Army's vanguards and Reyvateils scattered around, either unconscious or dead.

"Wha-what is this!" Croix said when he saw the mess.

"You shouldn't have come here… "Chester said, as he stood up. He was still alive.

"Are you okay!" Croix asked.

"It's dangerous…Step away from this place…" He said.

Something big came close...really big.

"Croix! Watch out!" Lady Cloche said to him, and he quickly stood in front of her.

The big monster rushed in and suddenly stopped. Croix fell in surprise.

"What is this!" He yelled.

"They suddenly began spawning out of Infel Pira's memory. They took Sonia…" Chester said.

'Why does he use the word 'they'?'

Gilbert took a look at the big monster. It consisted of a something that looked like the head of a rabbit doll, with more shark's teeth than in a certain shark horror movie. Its body was made of several things that he found hard to explain. On its neck, there was a big clock.

"Well well well, this is some big trouble we've got here," Jacqli said.

00000

"They'll fight Zodom soon. Should we allow Gilbert helping them?" Karen said.

"Well, of course yes. Even if we don't allow Gilbert to fight that, I doubt that he'll follow our orders. Just imagine his feelings after all his fighting into Grand Bell and he can't help the party at all," Josh said.

"But you know, I hope that we have bigger things for that thing…Like a rocket launcher…" Billy said. Just as they talking, a scientist came into their room.

"I got some news for you all," He started to talk. "First, as compensation for Gilbert's damage because of the medicine, and considering the fact that we got a lot of valuable test data from him, the board has decided that the maximum power limit that you can use for the teleporter will be lifted."

"It's not that we have many things to teleport in, by the way…" Billy said.

"And we'll provide some things that you might need, that's if we can actually provide it. For example…" The scientist stopped as some man pushed some boxes in.

"This is some pure nitroglycerin. We got...a bit more than what we ordered. At first we were going to ship this back, but then we thought that maybe you guys can use it…" The scientist said.

Hearing that Billy jumped and ran into the corner of the room.

"Um…Bill?" Karen said.

"It's nitro, dammit! That substance can easily explode!" Billy yelled.

The scientist laughed a bit.

"Don't worry. It's frozen. If you want to use it, just press this button and it'll defrost the whole thing. Just be sure that you stand far from it, or already have teleported that somewhere. We also sometimes manage to get some…resources from the government. We'll give some to you if possible," The scientist said, "And second…The board wants to meet with you Hans, as soon as you can. It's about recent…incident."

"Alright, but let me check some things with Gilbert first," Billy said. The scientist gave a nod.

"Okay, that's all. I hope that Gilbert will do well," The scientist said, and went away.

"You know, I feel Gilbert's like a guinea pig for testing…like the new eye and the drug…" Karen said.

"But they also help us. Without them, Gilbert can't have a new eye. Also they're the only ones that research how that machine works and try to recreate it. It's possibly the only way to bring Gilbert back to earth," Billy said.

"So…What we're going to do with these explosive boxes anyway?" Josh said, now standing beside the box, feeling the chill from whatever it was that kept the nitro frozen.

"Hmm…I got an idea…" Billy said.

00000

"…I can create a Song that works really well for emotions like this. When you think you're ready, talk to me. I can start singing any time," Jacqli said.

"Oh, yeah... alright." Croix said. He asked Leglius to put Cocona, Cloche and Laura away from the room first, since it was too dangerous for them. After that he told Jacqli that they were ready.

"Alright... Then, let's begin," Jacqli said. She started to sings something, and then the place started shaking. The monster was covered in some rune alphabets that Gilbert could not recognize or understand.

"It's panicking!" Croix asked.

"It's reacting to the Song!" Luca also said, as the monster got covered in something resembling electric balls.

"Here it comes!" Leglius yelled.

As the party was ready for battle suddenly there was an explosion that came from the monster's body. The party covered themselves, and the monster had now lost half of its body. Somehow the upper half was still flying for a moment before the clock vanished, along with the rest of the monster.

"What just happened?"Croix asked.

Gilbert then felt his PDA vibrating. He discovered that he had an incoming call.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked in their language.

"That monster got destroyed, right?" Billy's voice can be heard.

"That's your doing?" Croix asked.

"Sort of. We teleported in a box full of explosive substance directly inside that monster's body."

"Creative." Jacqli said, impressed.

"Can you at least tell us before you do that…" Croix sighed.

Chester ran to a girl that appeared in the place that the monster used to be.

"Sonia! Why did it have to be like this? Sonia... I couldn't protect you. I couldn't save you…" Chester said to her. Croix came closer to him, along with the party.

"Chester…" Croix said. Suddenly, a doll materialized in the room.

"Billy, you teleport in a doll?" Luca asked.

"No." He replied. She ran to the doll and checked it, then called the entire party.

"Look! Come!"

Croix came closer to her, and then the others followed.

"This doll has some letters sewn on it." She added.

"'Well done, the world will change.' What is this?" Croix was confused by the message.

"Maybe it's a message from the big boss. To us." Jacqli said.

Croix got even more confused by this.

"It's just an expression. Don't take it too seriously. Then again, it might not be," She added.

"Maybe they also have teleportation devices, just as we have?" Billy asked. He and others already know who it is, he made the statement just to stir things up.

As the party thought, they hear a clicking sound. They realized that Chester was about to shoot himself in the head, using a gun. Amarie quickly pushed him until he fell.

'Wait, a gun? Then why Sacred Army doesn't arm all of its personnel with guns? Maybe because they can defend Reyvateils more using close combat weapons than guns,' Gilbert thought as Amarie chewed him about his suicide attempt, followed by a speech from Croix to help the party restore the I..

"…I understand you're feeling very hurt about Miss Sonia right now, but I, and everyone in this world are feeling that same pain right now. So… please, if you have the heart to feel for the people of this world, then cooperate with us. I want to save Lady Cloche, Laura, Cocona, and the I.P.D.'s." Croix finally end his long speech. Chester was silent for a while, until he gave his reply.

"In all honesty, for me, Hibernation was solely for Sonia."

"Huh! What do you mean?" Amarie asked.

"The more I look at this situation, the more I feel like a sinner. I didn't expect all this. No matter what I do now, the sins and scars will never go away, but if you don't mind that, I'll do what I can." Chester said; making his agreement to help Croix restore the I.. Croix thanked him, before the Sacred Army man began to speak.

"Revealing this to anyone is against the treaty. I can't complain if the Goddess kills me. But even if She does, I can think of it as a delay in my suicide attempt from just a moment ago. This system is called Implant. There is a Song called Implanter, which executes and controls it," Chester explained.

"A Song! So it's a Hymn?" Croix asked.

"Yes. Singing the Song can recover the data prior to the initialization. This means, all I.P.D.s will regain their previous conditions," He said.

Gilbert thought, 'Why does all of this sound like computer-related things?'

"So we can think of it as restoring backup data?" Jacqli tried to make the things clear.

Chester confirmed her statement.

"Where is this Hymn Crystal?" She asked.

"The Hymn Crystal Implanter is within the Kanakana Pier, but where it's stored… I do not know."

"It's the part where the organization sends in the bots before Gilbert. They should be already hiding the bots somewhere in that room now," Billy said in English. Gilbert just nodded at his statement.

"That's fine. Telling us that much is more than enough," Croix said. It seemed that they now had new objectives to carry out.

"I see. I'm glad I was able to be of help," Chester said, while smiling.

Gilbert felt that he seemed to transform into a different person. Somehow, he could feel it.

"I'd say it'd be best if I go with you, but…" Chester started to say.

"No, please stay here, by Miss Sonia's side." Croix said, able to read his feelings.

"I'm sorry. Thank you. I would love to see the future you are trying to create." Chester said, and then the party went out from Lakra's room.

"Chester… thanks." Amarie said before she left. As they walked back to ride lift back to Telmina, Lady Cloche collapsed again. Luca helped her up again, seeing how Cocona and Laura were paralyzed, it was a wonder that Lady Cloche could walk and stand up, even just for a while.

Gilbert sighed while sitting at the corner of the lift. All of this was really tiring him, but he knew that he couldn't rest yet, as there were many things he still had to do within the party…

END OF CHAPTER 21


	22. Chapter 22

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 22 = The Board

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**16****:00 Croix's House**

The party arrived at Croix's house. They needed to let the three I.P.D's rest first before they could go to Kanakana Pier again, in order to retrieve the Implanter Hymn Crystal.

"Let's let Lady Cloche, Cocona, and Laura rest for now," Croix said.

"Okay. I'll move them to the bed upstairs," Luca said, and then got ready to carry Lady Cloche upstairs first.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked.

"Yup, I'll be fine," She replied, and then went upstairs.

Croix and others moved to the center of the living room, resting for a while before they could go again. Gilbert immediately laid down on the carpet.

"Finally…Rest…"

"Kanakana Pier, huh…" Croix mumbled. They needed to go back to that place again. 'First, the Goddess slept there, and then Implant was placed. That place seems holds many mysteries.'

"That place really held so many secrets... I never knew." Amarie said.

"Speaking of which…You really walked to Pastalia from Kanakana Pier alone? How did you know that we were taken to Pastalia?" Croix asked.

Gilbert had to think fast for a good answer, even if it had to be a lie.

"Well… This eye really helps me a lot to find monsters there, so I can evade any one of them, but it's tiring to walk alone. Can't do really much about it, since I can't take an airship to Pastalia with my…different clothes. And…I was guessing that you were taken to Pastalia, because Sacred Army captured that place before. Good thing that my guess was right, eh?"

They seemed believe him, since it sounded plausible.

"What about the bandages? Where did you get them?" Leglius asked.

"My friends. They teleported these in." Gilbert said.

"To think of it…it's kind of funny, you know, they can teleport in many things to here, but they can't teleport you back," Amarie said. Gilbert just sighed and nodded.

"Anyway, we immediately go to Kanakana Pier after this, right Croix?" Gilbert asked.

"No, we'll go tomorrow; too much has happened today," Croix said. Suddenly, a knock could be heard from the door. Croix opened it and saw Miss Reisha.

"Croix! Where's Luca! Is she alright!" She immediately asked, looking pretty worried.

"Ms. Reisha!" Croix asked. Luca then went down just after bringing all three I. to the bed.

"Mom!" She asked, surprised.

"Luca! Oh, I'm glad you're alright!" Ms. Reisha said. Her face expression softened as her worries disappeared, just by the sight of her daughter.

"Why... are you here?" Luca asked.

"I saw you on the billboard broadcast… They said you were going to be executed, so I panicked…" She explained. Gilbert was not surprised by this scene; she had to be really worried about them after what they have gone through. Luca merely gave an 'I see' expression.

"But, I'm glad you're fine. I am so relieved…" Ms. Reisha continued.

"See, I'm perfectly alright!" It seemed that she didn't want her mother to worry about her.

"Yes, I see. Is Lady Cloche…?" She wanted to ask something.

"She's fine, too! So…" Luca trailed off. There was an uncomfortable silence for a while, before Reisha spoke again.

"I'm happy I got to see you. I guess I'll be going home now…" Ms. Reisha excused herself from the place. Croix was confused by this; after all, she just arrived.

"Reisha, Are you sure?" Leglius asked.

"Yes. I just wanted to see that Luca was okay. Well then," She said while gives a small smile, then stepped out.

Luca also go back to upstairs. Croix also went upstairs, it was possible that he wanted to talk for a while with her.

Gilbert sighed again, wondering, 'How will this family disintegration end?'

There was an uncomfortable silence again.

"Well…I guess I need a new set of clothes now," he said, trying to break the ice. He was now shirtless, because his shirt had been burned away; and he didn't know how it happened.

"And a new haircut," Amarie said.

Gilbert touched his hair. He could feel that half of it was shorter, maybe it had also been burned. He sighed again.

"I wonder how to explain this when I go back…I can't just tell that I was teleported to another world and got some wounds and scars from the journey, nobody will believe me," He said.

"How advance was your world's technology?" Jacqli asked.

"Well…We've developed robotics, but far from advanced, compared to here. And we also have discovered superconductors, rockets, fission powers…" Gilbert explained.

"It seems that your world really ancient," Jacqli remarked. "They use fission power?"

"Yes, like nuclear reactors, nuclear missiles, nuclear bombs… I think this world has also found fission power too, am I correct?"

"Yes, but people don't use it because of the radiation that's produced." Jacqli said. "Your people aren't aware of the radiation it produces?"

"Well, they aware…It's not stopping them from using it." Gilbert explained.

Jacqli thought, 'Those people are fools. They don't care about their own environment. They even use it as bombs!'

"How bad is it, anyway?" Amarie asked.

"Well…One of these bombs can vaporize Pastalia if it exploded here. Also, one missile can even have TEN warheads in it. And in my world, they have thousands of them." Gilbert answered.

This horrified Amarie and Leglius.

"Good thing that they have sign a pact to never use it," he added quickly.

"Until someone launches it at another, then they counter it by launching another bomb at them…" Jacqli said.

"Yeah…Sometimes it makes me wonder how close my world from destroying themselves," Gilbert said.

Right then, Croix came back from upstairs, coming close to the crowd who sat at the center of the room.

"Gilbert, you stay here tomorrow with Luca," He said.

"Eh? Why?"

"It's Laura. Luca said that you'd better stay here with her," Croix said. Gilbert gave him a nod, and stood up.

"I'll check Laura for a while," he said while walking upstairs.

00000

"Gilbert?" Luca said when she saw him go upstairs.

"Just checking for a while," He said, while walking to the bed.

Laura lay beside Cocona on one bed, while Lady Cloche lay on another one. He sat on the side of the first bed. She looked very weak, just like the others. He wasn't sure what to do now.

"Hold her hand…" Luca slowly said.

Gilbert does as he was told and held Laura's hand; which felt smooth. She slowly opened her eyes, recognizing him.

"Gil…bert…" She said. Her voice was really weak."What happened…to…your face…"

"Long story. I'm just checking your condition. Now rest up, okay?" Gilbert asked, then he stood up, and started to go back downstairs, but Laura was still holding his hand.

"Please…Stay…Awhile…" She pleaded to him.

Gilbert looked at Luca, as though wanting to ask what he should do.

She gave him a nod and proceeded to go downstairs.

Gilbert sighed and sat down again.

"Um…What do you want?" He asked, not knowing what to do.

"Just stay here…It feels…much better… just with you beside me…" She said.

He nodded, while thinking about what he should do while sitting there. He got an idea.

He started to hum a lullaby. He did not sing the lyrics, since he he didn't really remember them, and she would not have understood it either, since it was in English. But, at least the melody would make her at peace.

It seemed to work; Laura's face became calmer. Somehow this also made him feel sleepy,but considering everything he had gone through, it was not surprising.

'Some rest won't hurt…'

00000

"Awwww…How cute." Karen said.

The people who see the chat room seem to have similar reactions, proven by comments given, from 'I wish my boyfriend would do it to me! ^_^' until 'JUST KISS HER GODDAMMIT!1one111'

"Well, it seems things have become calmer now. I'll go now for a while," Hans said.

"Where?" asked Billy.

"The Board, although I more like to call them 'council'. They are the ones who rule in this organization," Hans said, and then walked away. He somehow had a bad feeling about the meeting up ahead…

00000

"Ah, finally. We have been waiting for you. What took you so long?" A man asked as Hans entered the room.

It was more like a meeting room, with a big, round table in the middle of it.

"Sorry sir, I need to make sure the subject is okay."

"Yes, yes, we already see that. Now, can you make this fast please? I still have some other research to do," A woman retorted.

"Calm down miss-have-no-patience, it won't take long. Besides, this subject's the one that tested your steroid," Another man replied.

"It's E-0341 for you! It's not just steroids; it's far more than that! It's not just enchanting user's strength and speed, also its gives pain tolerance and reaction time, basically makes anyone using this Hulk-like!"

"And it's nearly killing the subject because he doesn't bother to dodge! Think! If the enemies are using modern weapons; the user will be shot to death because…" The man was still arguing with her.

"ORDER! IF YOU TWO CAN'T SHUT UP, WE CAN'T START!" another man shouted in a booming voice.

The remark silenced the room.

'Damn, young people…' he thought.

"Ahem, well, there are some things that we want to inform you of," The man then turned to Hans.

"First, we'd like to inform you that we are done researching the teleportation device. In the near future, we'll try to build one, although ours will consume MUCH more power, since most of the original teleportation device's power is supported from that build-in power supply, and we still haven't crack that power supply's secret…" he continued.

"Well, that was good. Any more things that I should know about?" Hans asked.

"Yes…It's about the recent events…I'm sure you already know what we're talking about." The man said again, "We detected that there was a wave being transmitted from the device when the mass collapse was happening. We don't know how it's related, but we're sure that device somehow causes it. So…Tell us, what actually happened at that time in that world?"

Hans told them about the incident involving the Hymn. He didn't lie, since it would have only delayed them knowing the truth.

"Ah, we see. And this…Hibernation will be happening again?" The man asked.

"No, it won't. But, there's another event that'll be happening that will potentially affect this world too." Hans said.

"And when will it happen?"

"Unfortunately, I can't predict that, but it will definitely happen. I'll tell you if the event is almost upon us," Hans replied.

The Board then discussed something quietly for a little while. Afterwards, the man turned to Hans again.

"Well, after some discussion, we have agreed that the device will be turned off-"

"Dissembled is the right term sir, since there's no way to turn that device off except by remove the power supply from the device," Another man corrected him.

"Ah, thanks. As I said before, the device will be dissembled until that event is past, and then we'll reassemble that device to contact the subject again," The man said

"Sir, but I'm afraid that our lack of help when that time comes will cause the subject to be harmed," Hans objected.

"Don't worry; we still give our support to the subject so that he can survive on his own. And talking about support…" The man turned to a woman, who was earlier arguing with another man. "Can you make the…medicine that you send to the subject so that the user can think clearly, Natalie? That last medicine caused harm to the subject because was not in control and just charged at the enemies, the military won't appreciate that," The man said.

"…I'll try sir." The woman replied.

"Good. And one more thing…" The man turned back to Hans. "Send our regards to the subject. That's all. You're dismissed," The man said.

As Hans stepped out from the room, the man started talking again.

"And who is the one that put an extra digit in the Nitroglycerin order earlier?"

END OF CHAPTER 22


	23. Chapter 23

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 23 = Soup

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**09****:00 Croix's House**

Gilbert woke up, finding his head at the side of the bed. Laura was still sleeping. He slowly got up and went downstairs, so that he wouldn't wake the Reyvateils.

"Morning, Gilbert!" Luca said.

"Morning?" He asked, and then looked outside. It really was morning now. "I slept that long?"

"Um, yes… You were so deep asleep that I couldn't even wake you up to go downstairs when it was bedtime, so I let you sleep there. Croix and others already went to Kanakana Pier," Luca explains. Gilbert just nods and sighs.

"I wasn't predicting to sleep this long…must be from yesterday events," He said, then a loud growling sound came from his stomach. He remembered that he hadn't eaten anything yesterday.

"Whoops. Sorry." Gilbert immediately apologized.

"Don't worry, there was some soup made last night left for you, Croix made it, although I can make another if you want!"

"No thanks, I don't want to add more burden to you."

"I'll check everyone at upstairs for a while. Suit yourself, okay?" Luca said, and then went upstairs.

Gilbert took a small bowl of soup and eats it. It tasted okay, to his mind. This would definitely fill his stomach up.

After he finished his soup and washed the spoon and bowl, he sat in the center of the living room. He wondered when all of this would be over, no longer be chased by Sacred Army or other things, no battles with monsters, back safe in his home…

'Good thing I still keep in touch with my friends. I'd go crazy if left in this world alone, not knowing what to do.'

Not long after that, Luca came back downstairs.

"You already finished your food?" Luca asked.

Gilbert nodded to confirm her guess.

"You really are a fast eater, aren't you?"

"Well, I usually rush things like this back in my world, so that I have more time to do something that I want." Gilbert explained. She nodded, understanding.

"Anyway, I want to talk to you about Laura…What do you feel about her?" She asked.

"Uh, well… To me she's a good companion and friend." Gilbert said.

"No, I mean, are you interested in her?"

"Uh…Never really think about it…Why do you ask this?"

"I was just curious…She really cares about you, you know."

"I never really thought about having a deep relationship with a woman, especially on this world, since I'm not planning to stay. My world is very different from this,"

"But you can bring her to your world later, right?" Luca asked.

"Still, there are many problems that will rise up after that. I would need to make her learn my language, and then take care of some legal matters with her, like citizenship… you know, some things like that. I'm also just a student, I don't really have a job, how would I fulfill her needs, like food and…" Gilbert said, before got cut by Luca.

"You don't work?"

Gilbert then remembered that normally someone his age was working now, like Luca has a job as a Dive Therapist, and Croix working as a Knight.

"Well, not like Croix, I only works part time. The income is not that great, enough only for my everyday life. People in my world, especially on my land, usually did not work at my age; we usually study first for specialization in a field so we can work better in certain jobs."

"Okay…" Luca nodded in understanding. Gilbert drew in a long breath and released it.

00000

"Gilbert really thinks far into the future, didn't he?" Karen remarked.

"Yeah. And come to think of it, it'll be troublesome to fill the documents for Laura. He can't just list that she was born in Pastalia, nobody would believe him," Billy said, "Well, I guess our only hope now to match them up is to wait for Laura to make a move on Gilbert."

"But it looks like she won't make a move on him, I feel she isn't the type that confess to person she likes."

"Well, there's one event that I'm sure that will makes Laura makes her move on Gilbert."

Karen thinks that awhile until she got what he was implying.

"Life extending agent insertion?"

"You got it. The bad thing is, we don't know when Laura last received the agent, so we don't know if he will encountered that event or not. Otherwise, maybe it'll need our intervention to match them up, if there's no help from the party. It seems the girl's interested in their relationship too. Oh well, I guess better leave things like that to chance. Love is not something that can be forced," Billy said.

Karen just nodded.

"Oh, and by the way I got some clothes again for him when I got home yesterday, since the last one is burned." she said while she opened the bags that she had been carrying before.

"This time they're ordinary clothes, right? He attracts more attention with the previous outfit."

"Hey! At least the all black is helping at night, they make it hard to spot him!"

"Well, she's right." Josh said, referring to when Gilbert tried to infiltrate Grand Bell at night two days before.

"But really, where do you get those clothes?" Billy asks.

"From my older brother, he's living in another city now, so I 'borrow' his old clothes."

"Your brother wears that stuff?" Billy asked, not believing what she was saying.

"Well, not for everyday of course! He used it to cosplay at some event many years ago. He didn't bring it when he moved to another town when he got married, so I thought that I could use it!" Karen explained.

"Good thing that I'm not your older brother," Billy said, before receiving a smack on the head from her.

00000

"Anyway…How about your relationship with Croix?" Gilbert asked her.

"Uhm…It's gotten even better and better!" Luca said.

"Good to hear that. I'm hoping that your relationship will last for long time."

"Hehehe, thanks."

Not long after they heard many footsteps and people yelling, it's not clear but they could hear them.

"What's happening out there?" Luca asked.

'Detect. Sound.' Gilbert thought.

The Goldeneye showed that the sound came from many sources; he guessed it came from a crowd of people. And the source of the sound came in the direction of Grand Bell. It seemed that there was a riot or something going on. He needed to check this out.

"I'll check that sound for a while. Stay here, okay?" Gilbert asked.

"Uh…Your clothes…" Luca said, then Gilbert realized something; he wasn't wearing any shirt now, and his sunglasses is lost at nowhere, he'll be attracting unwanted attention quickly. Just after that, his PDA began to buzz. He quickly took it.

"Ghost here." Gilbert said in another language.

"Use the common language Gilbert, you said that you want to train your speech skills, right?" It was Billy's voice, in the words that Luca can understand.

"Yeah. I'm listening. Let me guess, you got new clothes for me?" Gilbert asked.

"Correct. Stand aside, people, as usual." Billy said.

Gilbert and Luca then went to the side of the room. Not long after, some objects were materialized in. Gilbert took a look at the objects; there are a black robe with a hood, a black suit, a syringe, and a box full of bullets.

"No sunglass and armor?" Gilbert asked.

"Sunglass are not needed because your eye is covered by the hood on the top of that robe, at least that's what _our fashion designer _said," Billy said, before getting smacked on the head by someone. "And the lack of armor is because…We don't have any, sorry."

"Alright then…At least this will makes me more concealed for now...and this syringe? Same as before?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, not exactly same as before. Same effect, with reduced side effects, like your memory loss when you were under its effect, it should be won't happen again," Billy said, "That's all, I'll ca…" Gilbert interrupted him.

"Wait, will you tell me what happened when I used the earlier drugs before? I'm still waiting here."

"Uh…We'll send you the video of it. I forget about this before," Billy tried to find an excuse.

The young man sighed.

"Yeah, right. Gilbert out," He said, and then put back his PDA. Gilbert took the clothes and went into another room to change. After a while, he came back, wearing all of the new clothing.

"I guess this will do. Alright, I'll go outside for a while to check what's happening," Gilbert said.

Luca nodded and then he went outside.

**09:30 ****In Front Of Grand Bell**

Gilbert's prediction was right; there was a riot here. Many knights were guarding at the entrance of the Grand Bell. He took his PDA and recorded the scene.

"You try to end the world! What kind of ruler are you?" One member of the crowd said.

"You monster! You causing every Reyvateil's collapse!" Another person shouted.

The situation was really messed up. Gilbert quickly went back after he recorded the situation outside.

**09:50 ****Croix's House**

"Gilbert, what happened over there?" Luca immediately asked.

"Just look at this." Gilbert answered, and then gave his PDA with the recording playing.

She looked worried.

"Really hectic, don't you think?" He commented.

"Yeah…" Luca said.

"I'll guarding outside, just to be sure that it won't spread to here," Gilbert said, and then he grabbed his guns and went out.

**11:00 Croix's House**

Gilbert started yawning, he sat outside while activating his sound detector at times. The riot had not spread to this area, but he couldn't let his guard down. He started to wonder when Croix and the others would return and take care of the mess in Pastalia.

"Ah, Gilbert, can you come over here for a while?" Luca called from the door. He then went inside the house.

"Um, what is it?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, I tried to cook something, maybe you'll get hungry again. So there!" Luca handed him a bowl of…soup, he thought it was. The appearance didn't look…appetizing at all.

"Uh Luca, you don't need to do this, I just ate some a while ago." Gilbert said, trying to politely evade his fate.

"No, it's okay! Since judging from your eating speed it seems that you're a big eater, so I thought that you'll want to eat something again…" Luca said. It seemed that she was insisting on him eating this concoction.

'Major said not to eat whatever Luca's cooked, but…I can't refuse politely…But whatever, what damage can come from her cooking anyway…' Gilbert thought. He then started to eat the soup. The taste was…weird, to say the least. He keep eating it anyway.

**11:30 Croix's House**

Croix and the party finally got back from Kanakana Pier. Luca welcomed them home, and gave the situation on what happened recently in the town.

"The townsfolk are surrounding the Grand Bell and causing a riot! I don't know how they know, but they're blaming Targana for everyone's collapse. They're saying all the Reyvateils are still in a coma because of him, too. Everyone's saying he tried to end the world," She said.

"We weren't gone very long, but it seems like a lot's happened. We have to sing Implanter or the situation will only get worse," Jacqli said.

"Yeah, you're right. Anyway, where's Gilbert?" Croix asked.

"He's still at the toilet, he didn't feel good after eating my soup…" Luca said.

Croix look at the leftovers, it was really Luca's cooking. He took a deep breath.

'I should have warned him before about her cooking…' He thought.

END OF CHAPTER 23


	24. Chapter 24

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 24 = Demon

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**09****:40 Croix's House**

Gilbert came back to the living room, finding out that the party is already back from Kanakana Pier.

"Oh, hey. Did you guys get the crystal?" He asked.

"Yeah. Now we'll go to Grand Bell. Lady Cloche will talk to Targana so she can see about singing it at Hill of Metafalica," Croix said.

Gilbert looked at Lady Cloche. She was definitely not fine. He wondered if she actually had the energy to walk to Grand Bell, let alone talk to Targana, but he didn't complain and just nodded at Croix, because the sooner this mess was resolved, the better.

"Well, let's go then." the young foreigner said, and the party departed with him. He thought that this would be troublesome again, as Sacred Army would not just let them waltz into Grand Bell and go talk to Targana.

"Anyway, nice clothes Gil." Amarie said.

"Thanks."

00000

**10:00 Grand Bell**

The party goes tries into the Grand Bell, and as expected, the guards consisted of some Reyvateils and vanguards that halted them, not letting them in.

"Stop there!" One guard shouted.

"I wish... to speak with... Lord Targana. I request... A meeting." Lady Cloche slowly said.

The guards surprised at the person talking to them; it's the maiden.

"Lord Targana... Is he here?" She added

"It's the maiden! Catch them!" One of the vanguards ordered.

"Fools! Hold your tongues in the presence of the Holy Maidens, the most precious lives in this world! Your behavior is unacceptable!" Leglius yelled.

"We don't need maidens anymore! We only follow orders from Lord Targana!" One of the vanguards said.

They were ready to attack, but as Gilbert dropped his hood and readied his weapons, the guards turned white at the sight of his right eye.

"Shit, it's the demon!" One of the guards said.

They didn't dare attack, only defending at their place as the Reyvateils charged their song to be used on the party.

Croix and others didn't know what made the soldiers so scared, but they used it to their advantage, attacking them continuously. But it was hard to hit them when they were only concentrating on defense; they deflected every attack like it was the last day of their lives.

Gilbert then raised his M107CQ, thinking that this must be finished quickly. He had no idea how long Lady Cloche could stand all of this. He aimed at one vanguard guarding a Reyvateil, and steadied his position.

'This is gonna hurt,' Gilbert thought to himself before pulling the trigger.

*FWIP*

A bullet shot out of the barrel of the rifle, and the vanguard was ready to deflect it. Unfortunately it pierced his armor, and then his stomach.

"Wha-" The vanguard said, before the bullet exploded, killing the Reyvateil behind him. He dropped to the floor, or whatever body parts were left of him. This sight horrified the party, but it the enemies more at the sight of the dead pair.

Gilbert staggered for a while, feeling pain in his right shoulder. He already expected this pain, but at least it's was not breaking his shoulder. He corrected his position and readied himself for the next shot.

Not long after, he heard footsteps coming from the side of the hall. It's reinforcements, it seemed the sound of the battle attracted more Sacred Army knights and Reyvateils to see what had happened.

"What's going on!" One knight demanded.

They noticed the party and the mess, and more importantly, the maiden. They immediately prepared to do battle. Gilbert was turning his aim to the reinforcements.

"Don't try to defend that demon's shot, it can pierce your armor! Dodge it!" The vanguard yelled at the other soldiers.

By this yelling the party knows who the person they refer as demon is: Gilbert. But why?

As Gilbert was ready to give the next shot, Targana finally came.

"Wait!" He said to halt the fight. "Welcome, my dear beloved princesses."

"Lord Targana, there's something I must speak to you about," Lady Cloche said. There was a short silence on the hall, as Targana noticed that he was stand on a pool of blood.

"…This is hardly a suitable place to talk. How about a cup of tea?" Targana asked, as the party went into the Grand Bell.

Gilbert put his hood back up and followed the party inside.

The guards back after a while after Gilbert passed them. They looked at the mess before deciding to clean it up.

"I first thought that it was only a myth…Never thought that the demon is that powerful, and he's on the maiden's side…" The guards talked to each other.

00000

**11:00 Croix's House**

Croix and others has goes back from the Grand Bell. Luca immediately went upstairs with Lady Cloche, to let her rest after all of the events. After some time, she came back downstairs.

"How's Lady Cloche?" Croix asked.

"She's alright. I think she just got tired, so she's sleeping now," Luca inform him.

Croix nodded, glad that Lady Cloche was fine.

"Croix... Are you really going to accept the duel?" She then asked.

Gilbert recalls what happened earlier while Croix talking: Targana challenged Croix a the knight won, Targana will handle the government back to Lady Cloche. If he lost…He didn't care to remember it, since he was sure that Croix will win; he was the protagonist, after all.

"By the way, where is this Dice Cape? Is there such a place in Dreamy Fields?" Amarie asked.

"It's Cape Dice." Croix corrects her, before explaining the duel's location. "There's a reason you've never heard of it. When we were kids, Targana and I gave names to the places where we hung out."

"Oh…I see." Amarie said.

"You have to go through a small maze-like area to get there. When we were kids, we used to act like it was our secret base," Croix continued his explanation.

"Why would he choose a place like that for a duel?" Luca asks.

"Because for us, no other place would be appropriate."

Gilbert somehow understood this, considering that they both were friends many years ago.

"Anyway, I wonder why guards were calling you a demon, even the vanguards didn't dare to attack," Amarie said.

"I don't know. I don't remember doing anything to make them fear like that…."

"You tell Luca earlier that when you infiltrate Grand Bell, when you use some medicine, you forgot anything until you found yourself inside the lift. Maybe you do something to your pursuer so that they feared you so much," Leglius said, referring to when Luca told Croix about what happened to Gilbert when on Telmina.

"Yeah…but I don't know if I want to know what happened or not, considering that I must have done something very horrifying to make them scared of me like that…" Gilbert said.

Croix was ready to go to the duel now.

"Let's go. I don't want to lose by default because I couldn't get there in time," Croix said.

"How about the girls? Who will look for them?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, please stay here again, Gilbert. I'll go with Croix, will you be okay left alone?" Luca asked.

"I'm okay. I won't say I hope you win Croix, because I'm sure you will win, no matter what happens."

"Thanks. And anyway…" Croix said before getting closer to Gilbert and whispering something to him.

"Don't eat _anything_ that Luca's cooked," He whispered.

"Thanks, but I would have appreciated it more if you had said that earlier though..." Gilbert whispered back, and brought his voice to a normal level. "Go on, I doubt that Targana will patiently wait for you," He added.

Croix and others left for Dreamy Fields.

Gilbert went to upstairs to check on the girls; all three of them were sleeping. He took a deep breath and let it out. It seemed that once all these problems were solved, they would be okay.

Gilbert went back downstairs, and sat in the side of the room. He opened a bit of his clothes, revealing his right shoulder. It was bruised. Gilbert sighed and thought, 'Maybe I should have asked Luca to heal me before she left. So much for shooting M107CQ while standing. At least it's was only a bruise and not something much worse, like broken shoulder.'

Not long after, Gilbert can feel his PDA buzzing; it's from the support team.

00000

"This is Major, use English language, nobody hears you now. Just to keep you remembering your own language." Major said.

"Yeah, yeah…Anyway, any news?" Ghost asked.

"Some. I've send the video of your actions through e-mail, check it, although I doubt that you want to…You do have seen the guard's reaction when they saw you, don't you?"

"Yes…can I ask something? Can you give me a summary of my actions when I used that medicine?" Ghost asked again.

"Well…Basically you looked like you turned into another person. A much more violent person. Still want to see that video?"

"I…I'll think about it." Ghost said.

"Okay then. Any questions?" Billy asked.

"How's the teleportation device?"

"It's now being tested; so far they fail to reconstruct the specimen in one piece," Hax said.

"What do you mean?" Gilbert asked.

"When tested on a lab rat, the result was…messy. Need I say more?" He said.

Gilbert quickly shakes his head.

"Alright. That's all. Ghost out," He said, and then put his PDA away.

When he teleported home, he had better come in one piece, that was for sure.

He then opened his e-mail.

Now, in front of him, there was a video of whatever the drugs made him to do. There was a doubt in his heart that told him to not watch the video, but he need to know this. He needed to know the truth.

**12:00**

Gilbert finished watching the video. It was really disturbing, was it really the medicine that made him to become such a monster like that? He felt like he was a serial killer, killing human beings like it was nothing…

No. He cannot let these feelings get inside his heart. If he doesn't kill them, they'll kill him. It was self defense. It was their fault that they tried to capture him. But justifying killings like that…He remembered how he killed the vanguards and Reyvateils back at Coal Lodge. He remembered how he killed the vanguards when he sneaked at night to infiltrate Grand Bell, how he shot the vanguard and Reyvateil earlier with M107…

'How come I don't feel remorse for them? Did I really become a psychopath?'

Gilbert took a long breath; he didn't want to think about this anymore. What has done cannot be changed. He remembered what Major had said earlier; it's them that get killed…or him. He does the killing because of survival.

"I hope that I still have my sanity after all of this ends…" He mumbled. He slowly felt sleepy; this realization made him feel tired, he closed his eyes. A nap wouldn't hurt…

END OF CHAPTER 24


	25. Chapter 25

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 25 = Love

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**13:00 Croix's House**

Gilbert awoke after he felt the ground shaking. The quake was quick and not too strong, but strong enough to drive away any thoughts of sleep. He quickly checked on the girls, they were okay, but it seemed that Lady Cloche was also awakened.

"Lady Cloche, you okay?" He asked. She nodded.

"Gilbert, you feel that quake too, right?" She asked, and Gilbert confirmed it. She then tried to get up from the bed.

"Lady Cloche, please go back to-" Gilbert tried to convince her to go back to sleep, but was cut by Lady Cloche, who insisted to get up. He didn't stop her; instead he assisted her in walking downstairs.

**13:30**

"Gilbert, may I pose to you a question?" She said.

"Sure. What do you want to ask?" He said.

"Why do you help us? You don't even come from this land, but you do everything that you can to help us. Even after you got hurt severely, you still lend your hand to us. Why?" She asked.

Gilbert took a deep breath, then answered her question.

"Well…First, like I told Croix before, by traveling with you, maybe I can stumble on a technology that can send me back to my own world."

"But there is no guarantee that you will. Many of the technologies that you see here are from a long lost era, no one knows how to build many of them anymore."

"Yes, it is, but it was more than that reason. You do remember how I first got into this world, don't you? I was hungry, chased by monsters. I couldn't even speak your language, but then you all helped me. I'm still alive because of you guys, I can speak your language because of that. I help all of you to show my gratitude after everything." He paused a bit.

"But even more than that…It's because I consider you all my friends. I am not a very social man, I only have few friends, but I really value them. I will help my friends with all I can do if they are in trouble, and I can rely on them when I need help. After all the things that we have gone through together, I don't regret what I have done, even though I got badly injured, because I know that you guys will helped me in hard situations. That's my reason to help."

"I see…Thanks for your aid up to now now, Gilbert." She smiled.

"No problem." he said.

Not long after that, someone stepped into the house. Gilbert quickly aimed his sub-machine gun until he found that it was Croix and others. He lowered his weapon.

"Sorry Croix, didn't know it was you," He apologized.

The Knight waved it off and turned to Lady Cloche, thinking that she wasn't supposed to awake just yet.

"Lady Cloche, should you be awake?" He said.

"Yes. I'm fine. More importantly, how was your duel with Targana?" She directed the discussion in another direction.

"We still haven't settled it, but we're allowed to sing the Song." He brought the good news.

"I'm glad… Let us go then, to the Hill of Metafalica," She said.

Gilbert followed them, thinking, 'All this hecticness will be over after this…or maybe not. The quake earlier is not a good sign. There will definitely be new problems after this. Will all this trouble ever end…' He sighed.

**14:00 Strike Hall**

The party were now at the top part of the Grand Bell. Frelia and Shun were also there.

"I'm glad you're here, Shun," Croix said.

"Eh, this is nothing. I still owe you guys for saving Frelia," The robot-dog said.

"But this goes against Her plan. Is it really okay?"

"I'm not the ruler of the heavens or anything. I'm just Frelia's guardian; if She's safe, everything else is a trivial matter to me." Shun explained.

Croix nodded in understanding.

"Well now, do as you did earlier," the guardian added.

"Alright." Croix replied, and then he said something that Gilbert couldn't understand. There were some lights or special effects surrounding Lady Cloche. He thought that maybe it was from Croix's chanting.

"Wow, it's so pretty." Luca commented.

"The Song... It's flowing from me. I've never felt this way before. Thank you... I'll sing my very best," Lady Cloche commented.

"Are you okay...?" Croix asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I can still sing."

"I think it's hard enough that you're singing with that body right now…" Luca was obviously worried about her.

"No Luca, people have duties. They have tasks. The reason I exist here, the meaning of my life. Croix…Luca…You both have one, too. The reason you exist... The world needs you," Lady Cloche said, before proceeding to sing the Implant.

Gilbert could feel something happening as he heard the song. Some lights covered the area. He felt relaxed. After a while, Lady Cloche collapsed, but with a different look on her face. She was now truly filled with energy.

"Lady Cloche! Are you okay?" Croix asked her, worried.

"I'm fine! I feel so much better than before. I can keep going! Croix... Luca... I... want to save this world. So I want to return to the Grand Bell and take leadership...But, I'm really scared. I don't have the courage to do that right now…"

"Lady Cloche…" Luca said slowly.

Croix wanted to go back to his house an check on Cocona. Lady Cloche saw this and allowed him leave before going back to singing. The others followed him.

**14:20 Croix's House**

When Cocona heard the footstep of people, she went downstairs; it was her brother and the others.

"Cro!" She said before running to him and hugging him. Gilbert can see some tears in the eyes of both of them.

"Cocona, I'm so glad you're okay…" He said.

"Cro... Thanks. Anyway, something is wrong with Laura…" She said.

The party went upstairs with Cocona. Up there was Laura, lying on the bed. She was awake, but looked not only weak, but also half-dead.

"Laura, what's wrong with you?" Gilbert asked.

"It's almost the time…I need life extending agent…" She said.

"Just as I thought…I'll get the life extending agent." Leglius said, and then he left.

Laura thought about the situation and decided that she wanted to use this moment to get close to Gilbert.

"Gilbert…Please do it for me…" She pleaded.

Gilbert took a deep breath.

"Alright…I've never done this before though, don't really know what to do…" Gilbert said.

"I believe in you Gilbert…I believe that you'll treat me right…" Laura said.

Not long after, Leglius came back, with a crystal object, much like what he saw back in Coal Lodge, when Croix inserted it into Lady Cloche. He had not seen the insertion though, since Leglius told him and others to give them some privacy.

"Let's go back to Grand Bell. Gilbert, we'll back here later, okay?" Croix asked.

Gilbert nodded, and then Croix and others exited, leaving Gilbert and Laura alone.

"So…Where's your port?"Gilbert asked.

"Uhm…Well…It's…"Laura mumbled, face turning beet red.

"Yes?" Gilbert tried to hear her.

Laura took a deep breath and tried to throw all the shame she has inside her into oblivion.

"It's on my butt…" she finally managed to say.

Gilbert's face also turned red now, thinking of what he woulde have to do to insert the life extending agent.

"So I…take off your clothes…and insert it…" Gilbert said.

"Uhm, yes…If you don't want to do it, its okay, I'll…" Laura tried to say something.

"No, I already said that I'll do it. I won't do otherwise." Gilbert said. He tried to think of a way to do it in a less...awkward manner. After a thinking for while, he got an idea.

"Well, turn around Laura." Gilbert said to her.

She followed his instruction and was lying face down on the bed. He started to shift away the clothes that covered her lower body.

'Focus…Don't think anything stupid…or dirty…' Gilbert keeps his mind in check. After a while, he can see something like a tattoo. Maybe this is the port. He doesn't see any hole though.

"Um…Laura, I just push this through the port?"

"Yes, but please be gentle…"

Gilbert wants to proceed with the insertion, but she took one of his hands. "Gilbert…"

"Hm?"

"Please hold my hand and look at me…It feels more comfortable…"

Gilbert nodded, he held the crystal with one hand and positioned it over the port, while his other hand held hers.

"Ready?" He asked.

She slowly nodded.

He started to put the crystal in.

"Ngh!" She grunted and tightened her grip on his hand.

"You okay?" Gilbert asked.

"Its fine…Please continue…" Laura said. He continued the insertion. There was more grunting, and to him it was like she was really hurting from this.

'If somebody at the first floor hears us, we'll be causing a gigantic misunderstanding…' Gilbert thought. After a while, he could feel that the the crystal was gone and from what he could tell by the feeling of her soft skin, the crystal was fully inserted.

"There you go. It's all in." He said. She corrected her clothing and went to sit at the side of the bed, while Gilbert stood up.

"Thanks Gilbert…"

"Well, I only do what I can."

Gilbert started to go downstairs, but before he could, Laura held his hand.

"Wait Gilbert! There's something that I want to tell you…" Laura said, thinking that this is her chance, now or never. "…I…I love you! I love you since that day you saved me; I love you so much that I want to follow you anywhere you go! I…I…" She said her confession. Her face got even redder and she looked down.

"Laura…" Gilbert said slowly.

"I…I want to be with you…So…" She said, before she was cut off by a hug, from the man she loves. She was a bit surprised, but then she returned the hug.

"Laura…Are you sure? I mean, I doubt that I am a good man for you…I am not very social person, I'm not that strong, my looks are not good, even made worse by these scars and my eyes…" He said before she interrupted him.

"Gilbert…It's more than that, even with your scars, and other flaws that you said, you will still be my beloved…I love you just as you are…" She said. They both stared at each other.

Their lips slowly got closer and closer, until finally they kissed.

00000

"This is so…Well… I don't know how to explain what I feel about this…" Billy said.

"Warm and fuzzy feeling inside?" Karen guessed.

"Yeah, that. I almost cried." He said.

"Well, it's about time I guess they tied the loose ends. I want to see how their relationship turns out," Hans said.

"Oh well, I guess this must be celebrated. Want a pizza guys?" Billy said.

"You bet. A celebration for a new couple," Josh said.

END OF CHAPTER 25


	26. Chapter 26

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 26 = Vanguard

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**15:00 Croix's House**

Croix and others came back to pick up Gilbert and Laura. They now had a new objective to do.

"Gilbert? Laura? Are you there?" Croix called.

Not long after, the two came down from upstairs.

"Hello Croix. We got a new task?" Gilbert asked.

"Yeah, We'll go to Dreamy Field's underground passage. I'll explain more on the way there." Croix said. Gilbert nodded in understand. He then noticed that there's an extra person in the party, or more like robot dog, he can't decide. He recognized the new member right away.

"Well, it seems that we teamed up again." Gilbert said to Shun.

"Right." Shun said, more as matter of fact. As they walk outside, Cocona noticed something on Laura's neck, something that looked more like a bite mark.

"Uhm, Laura, there's a mark on your neck. Did you get hurt?" She asked. The girls overheard her and see Laura's neck too.

"Laura, are you…" Luca want to ask something but quickly cut by Laura, with a very red face.

"Uh, it's nothing! Really!" she quickly said. Luca and Amarie giggled at her reaction. Cocona was confused of what that could mean, while Lady Cloche pretended not to hear that.

"What are you talking about?" Cocona asks.

"Again, this is nothing that kids should know or understand." Jacqli said.

"I'm not a kid!" She complained.

00000

**15:40 Dreamy Fields**

The party went back to the cave where they went to Kanakana Pier before. This time, though, they were using an airship, so they arrived at the location much faster. They just needed to take a different path when on the intersection.

"This place again huh?" Gilbert said.

"Yeah. What's wrong with it?" Croix asked.

"Well, reminds me when earlier when I needed to get out of Kanakana Pier. I had to run from that place to here, until I got outside. It was nonstop, because of robots chasing me from behind," Gilbert said.

"Well, at least it trains your stamina!" Cocona remarked.

"Yeah." Gilbert rolled his eyes.

Not long after the party stopped at a hologram panel or something that looked like it from Gilbert's point of view.

"Here it is. The gate to the Secret Space. I authenticate, and the gate should open," Shun said. He then stepped into the hologram, after a while a circle appeared.

"Right, now we can move on." He said.

The party stepped into the portal and went into a new area, then resumed walking.

'If Shun can operate that teleportation machine, maybe he know how it works. Maybe the Goddess also know it works, but I can't just ask them how…' Gilbert thought deeply about it for a while, and came to a realization: he was tagging along with Croix and others, who were trying to save this land, so he was 'technically' helping them in this task. This would make them consider returning the favor to him by sharing their technologies. Yeah, tthat might work. Good thing that he was helping Croix and others in their quests now…

"Gilbert, what's wrong?" Laura asked to the man that was deeply in his thought.

"Ah, nothing important. Really." Gilbert said.

After walking for a while, the party reached a panel. It seemed that it was the control panel controlling the coupler.

"I'm going to purge it, you're sure, right?" Shun asked.

"…Yes." Lady Cloche said.

Before Shun could do anything to the panel, an alarm went off, and then some robots fell down, unknown from where, and ready to attack the party.

"Huh? Tsk…What an annoying thing!" Shun said. Gilbert quickly prepared his guns and shield. There was no way hiding or flanking them, as this attack was too unpredictable, and there were no hiding places here.

'Good thing that this place will be purged.' He thought. Gilbert then quickly went in front of Laura.

"Eh? Gilbert?" Laura asked, surprised that Gilbert would be protecting her, since he always went hiding and took out enemies from nowhere when in battle.

"I'll cover you, okay?"

"Okay, I believe in you Gilbert!" She said, and then started by helping Luca charging her song magic. Gilbert suppressed the robot's attack, thanks to the target marker utility marking enemy's movement, and the shield did well in protecting against lasers. He didn't try to shoot back with M107, since one of his hand holding the shield, and another with the P90. Even if he had put his P90 away, he couldn't shoot the M107 one handed, as the weapon was too heavy.

After a while, Luca finished her song magic. A little girl sitting on a ring showed up and somehow turned the enemies into a diamond and smashed it. Then the diamond was broken, along with the enemies, ending the battle.

The party sheathed their weapons. Croix had something on his mind though.

"Hey Shun." He called the robot dog.

"What's wrong?"

"Is it really impossible to recover the lift generators?"

"Not if Frelia still had enough strength, but it's not a good idea right now." Shun gave the answer.

"So, what's going on between this world and Frelia's power?" Jacqli asked. Shun wondered how to best explain this to them.

"This is a simple way of putting it. This world… is Frelia's Song Magic." He finally explained.

Jacqli was surprised by this, which Gilbert found weird. 'How can she be not surprised when facing a giant monsters back at Lakra's chamber but surprised that this world is created by song magic?'

"Right. The same as what you sing. Frelia created this world. So, do you understand it all now? You have experience, so you should know what happens when you run out of energy while singing. That's why it's not a good idea to try and keep Dreamy Fields afloat," Shun continued his explanation. Croix nodded in understanding.

"So it's true that this world heading towards its end…" Lady Cloche said.

Shun then proceed with the panel. Not long after, an alert sound was heard again, and this time a quake shook the place.

"Now, let's hurry and go outside, this place will fall soon," Shun said.

The party ran back to the gate, getting out from the place.

"Shun, may I ask how long until this place is do-" Gilbert asked while running.

"Save your breath, just keep running!" Croix cut into his question.

Gilbert had a hard time breathing, thanks to his arsenal that he had to carry. When the party arrived at the gate, he used the time to take a breath.

'Circulating oxygen…Take deep breath while you still can…Keep focused on running again…' Gilbert thought. After the portal took the party out from the secret place, they started running again. As they crossed a big hallway, Gilbert stumbled and fell behind. He cursed his luck as the place shook even harder.

"Whoa!" Croix said, the place shaking so hard that it's hard to even stand still, and then they see the land's falling.

"It fell…" Jacqli said.

Laura noticed that Gilbert isn't with them.

"Wait, where's Gilbert?" Laura asked. She started to panic and went back to the big hallway. The outer wall's falling apart now. She found Gilbert sitting near the edge of the hallway. He appeared to be shaken from the incident.

"…That was close." Gilbert said to himself. He can feel his heart still beating very fast.

"Are you okay Gilbert?" Laura asked.

"Well…Sort of. My body isn't hurt, my mind is." Gilbert said.

As they two talking, Lady Cloche looked on from the edge of the land.

"The world is nearing its end…What can I do?" She said.

"Lady Cloche, it's okay." Croix said.

"Yeah! You're just tired so you're seeing things in a negative light! Let's rest a while at home. I'm also kinda worried." Luca added.

"Once we return to the Grand Bell, we'll be overwhelmed with work. Let's rest at Luca's." Jacqli said.

"Yeah… Good idea." Croix said.

Gilbert started to stand up and got ready to walk again, this time to Luca's house. A rest after all that running will do them some good.

"Hey…What is this smell…" Amarie asked

"Ah, sorry, that's mine…Seeing the land fall in front of me was really shocking. I still can remember how the ceiling nearly hit me and the floor started to fall," Gilbert said.

"…Get some new pants, Gilbert. Seriously." Cocona said.

**17:00 Luca's House**

The party went into Luca's house. Ms. Reisha seemed surprised.

"Luca! …Welcome home." She greeted

"Um…The earthquake…Were you okay...?" She asked, looking concerned this time.

"Yes, perfectly fine. It didn't shake too much around here."

"Oh…good. I was a little…I was just a little bit worried…" Luca said.

"Luca…"

'Maybe Ms. Reisha's concern earlier makes Luca's heart soften. Good to know that the tension between them is getting better. Man, this makes me want to see my family…' Gilbert thought when he saw the scene.

"Oh, um, Lady Cloche! Let's get some rest upstairs!" Luca said, and then she brought Lady Cloche upstairs.

"She's changed a little…" Leglius commented.

"Yes, it seems so." Ms. Reisha replied. Croix and others rested in the living room.

"Um, Laura, how was my guard back there?"

"Uhm, you were good Gilbert! I hope that you'll want to do it again for me…" Laura said.

"Uh…Don't know about that. I feel more useful when I was flanking from somewhere, and not directly involved in battle," He gives his honest answer.

"Well, it's okay if you said that, it just that I feel more protected when you do that…" Laura said. After that, Gilbert felt his PDA shaking, the call had to be from the support team.

"Hello Gilbert. I'll straight to the point: we'll teleport in some more things for you," Billy said.

"Why so hurry?" He asked.

"Well, you want me to bring a joke about how you wet your own pants?" Gilbert gives him a glare over the PDA.

The party then stood aside as a few things materialized. Gilbert noticed that there's a similar black pants that were teleported to him; he quickly took them and got changed.

"Good things that you teleported that quickly, he's smelling bad with his wet pants." Cocona said.

Jacqli took one of several books that was teleported along with the pants. She seemed interested in it.

"What's that book?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, that's some books for you to read, also to introduce the literature from here in this world." Billy said. Gilbert looks at the cover of the books, it was written in what looks like Japanese alphabets.

"Uh…I can't read…"

"Then learn. I'm sure that your new girlfriend will teach it for you." He said while giving a wink to him. Gilbert sighed, as Jacqli quick read the book.

"What's this about?" She asked.

"Um…About some scientist who goes through experiment because a species of bunnies was going extinct, but the experiment goes wrong and the scientist was killed by the mutated bunnies that he created. The protagonist will be sent there to clean the mess up," Billy explained. Jacqli looks at the book again, and there was part where the protagonist slaughters the mutated bunnies in gory details.

"Gilbert, mind if I take it after you done with this?" Jacqli said.

"Sure, if you want. You interested in that book?" Gilbert said.

"I know someone who it will interest," She said, while having a smile on her face, somehow it looked like an evil smile.

00000

"She took the bait, guys. Congrats," Major said to the anonymous persons that sent him the books. There are some joyous expressions on their faces.

"Trolling Her through Jacqli…heh. I can't imagine her reaction when she reads the book," Hax said.


	27. Chapter 27

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

A/N: Got slowed down, because I discover Touhou, and get addicted…Oh well…Maybe you'll find my writing style got changed because of not writing for a long time. Can't promise faster update after this, but I'll try to update as often as I can.

Chapter 27 = Eye Power

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**17:30 Luca's House**

"…And the scientist then started his research, because his love to bunnies was more than for human beings," Laura recited the story while pointing at the section she was reading to Gilbert, while he looked at the indicated words.

"Laura, please let me take a break for now, I'm tired," Gilbert said.

"But when you learn our spoken language, you can study longer. What's wrong? Is there something wrong with my teaching?" She asked.

"It's the story that's the problem; it's hurting my common sense," He said. He thought that whoever wrote this must have been either a bad writer or a troll who was trying to trick the readers. Why would Major send this book to him and not a better quality book?

"Oh and anyway, Croix…" Gilbert turned to him.

"What?"

"I'm trying to sort out this situation here, just to make sure our objectives and what we need to do is clear. Can you help me?" He asked.

"Well, sure." Croix answered.

"First, this land is beginning to fall apart, because Lady Frelia started to lose her power."

"Correct." Shun said.

"And to save the land, our hope now is trying to create Metafalica, by collecting Infelsphere keys."

"Well, yes." Croix said.

"Is that there are? No other backup plans, like evacuating to somewhere for a while? Just in case all did not go as planned."

"No. Evacuating around a million people is just unlikely to do," Shun said.

"Well, you're right…" Gilbert sighed. "It must be hard on Lady Cloche and Luca, knowing that only they can save all the people now. Dang, can't we do anything to help? I feel like I'm very useless now…"

"Our job now is support them, that's the only thing that we can do for them," Leglius said.

"Well, yeah. Anyway…Any plans on where we should go after this?" Gilbert asked.

"I'm still thinking about that. Maybe we can go shopping to restore our supplies, but with no absolutely set destination," The leader said.

"I see. Well, time to go back to my reading lesson," Gilbert said.

"I thought you said that book hurts your common sense. Why continue?" Cocona asked.

"To think of it, that was already crumbled to dust when I arrived at this world, a song that can invoke powerful magic, a giant monster that manifest from I.P.D's mind, and other stuff. I won't even get surprised if we'll later have to fight a 50 foot tall robot that fires rockets and stuff."

"Don't be silly Gilbert, now get back to your lesson!" Cocona said. He shrugged and went back to the badly-written book.

00000

**07:00 Luca's house**

The party was ready to go on their journey again. Yesterday evening was a bit shocking one; Luca told everyone that Lady Cloche was actually Leyka, Luca's sister, and Ms. Reisha's real daughter. The tension between Luca and Ms. Reisha was coming back again because of this.

'And I thought that her family problem will be over soon…' Gilbert thought. He was waiting for Luca and Lady Cloche outside, along with the rest of the party. He looked at the front of Luca's house. Graffiti was still there, all over the front of the house.

"Hey Croix." Gilbert called to him.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking that maybe next time we rest here, we should clear away this annoying graffiti, just to return favor to Ms. Reisha. She always helped us," Gilbert said.

"Good idea Gil! That stuff isn't a pleasant sight, we should clear it soon!" Cocona said.

"Well…You are right. Next time, we'll clean it off when we have the time," Croix agreed with him. Not long after, Luca and Lady Cloche exited from the house.

"Are you okay?" Croix asked.

"Yeah…" Luca said.

"Yes, I'm fine." Lady Cloche said. After that Soope started spinning fast, and somehow produced a key.

"An infelsphere key!" Lady Cloche said. It was Gilbert's first time see how the party actually get them. He tried to not think of how Soope could produce that key, just by spinning.

'Well, whatever to stop this land from falling.'

"Oh yeah. If we don't have a set destination yet, I have a favor to ask. Can we swing by Frelia's place? I've been away from her for quite some time now. I'm especially worried because of the situation," Shun requested.

"Alright. Then first, let's go see how Lady Frelia is," Croix accepted that.

"But, where in the Grand Bell is she anyway?" Cocona asked.

"I had her stay in my private room. While we're gone, no one's using it anyway," Lady Cloche said. The party then goes back to Grand Bell.

**07:50 Grand Bell**

As party entered Lady Cloche's room, they met with Frelia, who now she seemed to be panicked over something.

"Shuny, oh no, oh no!" Frelia said.

"What's wrong, Frelia?" Shun immediately asked her.

"I think I lost the feeling in a part of the B-Villa area…" Frelia state the problem. Shun looked to be shocked.

"What's wrong!" Lady Cloche asks, wonders if it's crucial.

"Again. This time, the area from Cat Mansion to Enna will fall…" Shun explained.

"The lift generator in the Cat Mansion... As far as I remember, it was operating pretty well," Jaqcli recalled.

"Does that mean Frelia's power is decreasing more rapidly?" Croix guessed.

"That too, but... seeing this situation, it seems there's something else. I feel it's intentional. Like someone's controlling something behind all this." Shun replied.

"So you mean, they're hacking Frelia?" Jacqli asked.

"That's right. It's quite hard to believe, but…"

"Really? It's pretty easy to do if you're in the Binary Field," Jacqli said while smiling, she seems to know this subject really well. Shun stared at her, like suspecting her for something.

"Um… How can you hack _somebody_? I can think hacking a computer, but hacking a _person_?" Gilbert asks.

"It's a long story, and even I tell you, I doubt that you can even understand, looking at your _archaic_ technology at your world." Jacqli said. Gilbert just shrugged it off, since she was correct. Hearing her explanation would only add unnecessary information to his head.

But to think of it, he remembered something about hacking song server when Billy said to get a Reyvateil girlfriend. Well, he got her now, now what? What did he plan to do to Laura?

"Gilbert, come on! We need to go now!" Cocona yelled straight into his ear, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Where?" He asked while walking with the party to the airship.

"To Lift Generator at Cat Mansion of course! You don't listen, do you?" Cocona sighed.

"Try to focus more, Gilbert, seriously…" Croix said.

"You know what, if I knew that all of this was going to happen, I would have rather gone to military school when choosing schools," Gilbert said, looking at the fact that all the other males in the party were soldiers, or guards, or any other type of military profession.

As they started to get into airship, the ground shook violently.

"What happened!" Croix immediately asked. Gilbert looked around. Everything seemed fine…until he realized that some of the chunks of the land near Enna were missing.

"Guys…Look at that…" Gilbert said. They looked, horrified over what had just happened.

"The Enna area… fell…"

"Let's go to Enna!" Amarie said. The party got into the airship and rushed to the location.

**08:50 Enna**

The party looked at the town. A lot fo destruction on the buildings could be seen.

"This is…" Croix tried to comment, shocked.

"Horrible…" Luca completed his sentence.

"This is like the aftermath when a town in my world gets hit by an earthquake…Horrible…" Gilbert commented as Lady Cloche asked what had happened to the townspeople. They said that the area from Cat Mansion to Enna was starting to fall, and the town had been damaged from the resulting quake.

As they talked, a young woman screamed for help. She was standing in front of the entrance to something that looked like an underground passage, with some other people. Lady Cloche instantly ran to her, with the party close behind.

"What's wrong!" Lady Cloche asked.

"The kids! They went to play in the underground pass and they haven't returned!" One of the townswomen answered.

'This is bad…' Gilbert thought.

"At this rate, who knows when there'll be another collapse…" The older woman beside her said. Lady Cloche immediately went inside the dark underground passage.

"Hey, it's dangerous!" The old man beside the old lady yelled. Cloche disappeared into the darkness.

"Grh! Such a wild princess," Leglius grunted.

"It's too dark inside!" Amarie said.

"I'll go first inside while you find a light source to bring!" Gilbert said while running inside.

"Gilbert, it's too-"Croix said, before he was interrupted.

"Don't worry, I got my eye." he replied while shedding his hood, revealing his mechanical eye. He continued to run inside.

"Gilbert!" Laura called. 'He's going to get hurt, I know it...'

**09:00 Underground Passage**

'Activate nightvision.' Gilbert thought. Within second it became a lot easier to see where he was going. He followed Lady Cloche's voice.

"Kids, where are you?" She tried to call out to them.

Gilbert slowly got closer to her location. since she was moving slower, it was possible that it was because she couldn't see well inside. After a while, Gilbert spotted Lady Cloche.

"Kids, please answer if you can hear me!" she called again. Gilbert started to shout to her, but he noticed that the ceiling above her was starting to fall. He needs to act, and fast.

"Lady Cloche! Watch out!" Gilbert ran to her and kicked her as the rocks fell. She went forwards, and was saved from the falling rocks. Luckily, the rocks didn't completely block the passage. He ran to her and helped her get up.

"Sorry Lady Cloche, are you okay?"

"What are you doi-" Lady Cloche yelled, but stopped as she noticed the glowing mechanical eye, and saw that it was Gilbert. He pointed at the place the rocks fell.

"Sorry Lady Cloche, I needed to save you from that."

"Forget about that, we need to find them!"

"At least wait for the others, Lady Cloche. If you get killed, not only the kids will be doomed, but this land, too!"

She became silent.

Gilbert could hear other footsteps, and he hoped that maybe it was the party.

"Croix! I found Lady Cloche!"

The footsteps got louder and faster, and finally the party went to their location, this time with some torches.

"Lady Cloche, are you okay!" Croix asked.

"I'm fine. Now let's search the kids." Lady Cloche said.

"Let me," Gilbert said, 'Detect sound.' he hoped that he would be able to find the children by the sounds they were making.

"Gilbert, what are-" Amarie started to ask/

"Shhh! I'm trying to search here." Gilbert said. After a while he deactivated the sound detector.

"So, find anything?" Croix asked.

"Sorry, the sound is echoing here, I can't locate them. I suggest that we walk deeper, I'll try to detect anything weird." Gilbert said. The party then continues to walk deeper, while calling the kids.

"This passage is like a maze…Whose parents would let their kids play in here anyway?"

"Discuss that later Gilbert," Leglius said.

He shrugged and reactivated the sound detector, thinking that maybe he would find something.

"Guys…" Gilbert signaled for them to stop moving and talking. He detected a faint sound, and it was not coming from the party. The sound detectors couldn't find the source, but it found something. 'Maybe it's the kids', he thought.

"What now, Gilbert?" Cocona asked.

"I can detect other sounds here. I think we are close to them," Gilbert said.

The party moved faster this time, hearing that they are closer to the kids.

After a while, they could hear the sounds of a boy crying, coming from really close by.

'Activate terahertz imaging.' Gilbert said. He added a mental note that he needed to make a shortcut to this feature; the name is hard to remember.

"Behind there, four children and a woman, just behind that wall." He told the others. They ran around, trying to find a way in.

After a while, they finally found the kids. Gilbert had been right, there were four children and a woman. They cheered up when they saw the party coming.

"Hey, it's a rescue squad! We're saved!" A boy said.

"Yay! Everyone! We're gonna be saved!" A girl also said.

"Good job Gil!" Amarie slapped his back, while the kids were talking about Lady Cloche. It seemed she got all the attention.

"It was nothing big, real-" Suddenly, Gilbert almost collapsed.

'Energy Critical, energy conservation act initiated…' The eye showed a small red warning, and his vision goes normal again.

"Gilbert! What happened?" Laura instantly asked.

"Forgot to turn off this eye capability…It drains my stamina…Nothing serious, really," he chuckled. He then looked on as Lady Cloche healed one of the kids, a boy whose legs had been injured.

"It's Song Magic! Lady Cloche's Song Magic!"

"Wow! This is my first time seeing Song Magic!"

"How pretty..." The children commented.

"Let's get out of here." Croix said.

The party went back to the surface, bringing the children to safety. What a day…They need to rest after this…

END OF CHAPTER 27


	28. Chapter 28

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 28 = Rest

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**13:00 Etna Inn**

The party was gathered the nearest inn. The place was quite a mess after the quake, but still useable. After all, any place to rest will do for the party, and the innkeeper didn't charge them after the party's heroic deed today.

Gilbert was lying on his bed. He was tired after using the eye power, but not feeling sleepy. At his side there was Laura, sitting. She was worried when Gilbert started to collapse, so she decided to look after him for a while.

"Are you feeling better now?" Laura asked.

"Yeah. I already told you to not worry about me. I just need to rest for a while, really. This was nothing compared when I fell from the Grand Bell." Gilbert calmed her down.

"But still…You shouldn't push yourself too hard…" She still looked worried. Gilbert got up and looked into her eyes.

"Hey, I will be fine Laura, okay? I know my limits; I won't push myself too far," Gilbert said. "Besides, if I push myself far beyond my limits, you will save me, right? Like when I was fell from the Grand Bell. I trust you," He added.

"Gilbert…" She was quiet for a moment, and then gave him a nod. Gilbert smiled and went back to lying on his bed.

But speaking of pushing his limits…Gilbert took the vial containing the drug from the support team, and looked it for a while. While recalling the video that Major showed him, he wondered: 'Will this drug turn me into a monster again?'

But then again, the drug was given for emergency purposes only, when he was in grave danger. In the situation when he really needs to use the drug, he didn't care if he was turned into a sadist monster or anything like that, as he really needed to win that battle, or else. He hoped that he wouldn't find himself in such a situation again.

"Gilbert, what are you holding?" Laura was curious about the vial that Gilbert twirled between his fingers.

"Ah? Nothing important, really." Gilbert said. He made a mental note to not talk about the effects of the drug, afraid that Laura would worry about him again. "Speaking of which, where is Croix?

"He, Luca, Lady Cloche, and Jacqli went to the pharmacy for a while."

"Well, I guess I will go see them," Gilbert got up from his bed and took his guns.

"You need to talk to him?"

"Not really. I'm just bored here. Want to follow?"

"Ah, okay!" Laura got up and followed him to the pharmacy.

00000

Gilbert was caught Amarie's attention when he and Laura went downstairs.

"Gilbert! Already feeling a lot better now?" Amarie asked him.

"Yeah, much better than before. " Gilbert replied.

"You are leaving?" Leglius noticed Gilbert bringing his weapons.

"Only to pharmacy. Croix went there, right?"

"You don't need to bring your weapons if you're only going to the pharmacy Gil. Cro doesn't bring his," Cocona said.

"It's okay; I've carried this for long that it's uncomfortable when I don't. Besides, you always bring your weapons everywhere, so why can't I?" Gilbert asked, referring to her hair ornament.

"Well, to be fair her baton doesn't weight much compared to what you have…That looks heavy." Amarie said, looking at the biggest gun.

"This IS heavy." Gilbert said while handing his M107CQ. Amarie felt the weight and looked a bit surprised. "So, is it heavier than your bow-harp thing?"

"It is…You can't make it lighter somehow?"

"I hope I can…Think of this, remember when I fired this gun for the first time?"

"When you broke your shoulder?" Cocona tried to remember. Amarie passed the gun to Leglius. He felt the weight and tried to aim with it.

"Yeah, that. If I make it lighter, imagine what this thing can do to my shoulder even more…" Gilbert said again. "But, then again, it compensate with that monstrous power of this gun."

"I still find it disturbing how easy this gun can cut through Grand Bell vanguard's armor like nothing…" Leglius said, recalling back when Gilbert shot dead a pair of a vanguard and Reyvateil with one firing.

"When?" Cocona asked.

"When the I.P.D's collapsed, you were in the house at that time. Be glad that you didn't see it." Gilbert said. He then looked at Leglius' handling the weapon. It seemed the weight of the gun is not a problem for Leglius, looking at his big body.

"Want to swap weapons for a while?" Gilbert proposed the idea.

"No thanks, I am not a marksman," Leglius said while giving back the weapon to its owner.

"Amarie?" Gilbert looks at her, obviously asking the same question.

"Uh…No, I can't handle such a weapon…Besides, I doubt you can use mine," Amarie turned down the offer.

"What a shame…I want to try playing that harp once…" Gilbert said. "Well, we will go now," He added, before leaving the inn with Laura.

"Hope your date goes well!" Amarie shouted to them with a smirk. They could see laura's face turn red before she vanished along with Gilbert.

**13:30 Pharmacy**

As Gilbert went into the pharmacy, he could see that Jacqli was making something with a vial. Croix, Luca, Lady Cloche, and Spica were watching from the other side of the room.

"Hello there." Gilbert greeted them, and noticed the black-haired woman. "What is she doing?"

"Synthesizing an item, as you can see," Spica turned and answered, "She and Croix have a bet going."

"What bet?"

"You will see." Spica said with a smile.

00000

After some time, Gilbert could smell something pleasant in the air.

"Is this…Tea?" He asked.

"Yes, it seems it is." Spica said.

Jacqli was looked shocked at the results. After a while, she was facing Croix and bowed down to him.

"Eh…What." Gilbert looks surprised. Croix also surprised too, and quickly stop Jacqli.

"They were betting if the result of her creation would be good or not…It seems Croix won." Spica said while smiling at her friend now. The Reyvateil was cursing the recipe, the ancient people who make the recipe, and the result.

"Woah, this is really something…" Gilbert was amused at Jacqli's reaction. She usually did not show much emotion, but today he was seeing a much more lively side to her.

"Anyway, do you need something?" Spica asked him again.

"Uhm, not really… I want to give this to you, gift for the other day…" Gilbert pass her the drug vial.

"Hm…Where did you get it?" She asked.

"From my friends in the other world. They told me to only use it if I was in danger."

"Wait for a while," Spica said, then did something to the drug using her chemist items.

"Gilbert, what are you doing?" Croix asked. It seemed that Jacqli had finished sulking because she looked to be going back to her old self.

"Giving Spica a drug…" Gilbert explained.

"Is it that important?" He asked again. Gilbert got closer to Croix and lowered his voice.

"This medicine is the reason why I was called a demon back then by Grand Bell's vanguard…I'll tell you later."

"Why so secretive about-" Croix asked, but was cut off by Gilbert's answer.

"I don't want Laura get worried about me…Keep it secret, okay?"

Croix just takes a deep breath and nodded.

"Hey, what you guys talking about?" Luca asked.

Every girl except Spica looking at the two men in the room. Laura looked puzzled.

"This is man's talk, any girl should NOT hear about this. Believe me that you wouldn't want to hear it," Gilbert quickly dodged the question.

"What kind of excuse is that…" Croix muttered in low voice.

"Well, forget I asked then…" Luca looked disappointed. The girls seemed to buy that reason.

After a while, Spica came back, and returned the vial to Gilbert.

"It seems that you have some interesting drug here," she said while giving her usual smile. She then gave Croix a piece of paper.

"Recipe again?" He asked.

"Yes. Maybe we can reproduce the medicine."

"You can reproduce this without our help, right? I mean, I see you are very talented and resourceful…" Gilbert said.

"Where is the fun if I make it alone?" Spica replied, still smiling.

"Alright, we will do it once we have the indigents," Croix said, and then turned around to Gilbert. "We're going back to the inn, you coming?"

"Well, let's go then."

With that, Croix and the others went from the pharmacy.

"Please come again." Spica said as they left.

00000

The party walked back to the inn. The girls could be heard talking to each other, while Gilbert and Croix walked at the front.

"So Croix…" Gilbert takes out his PDA and started the video that Major sent to him. "This will explain much better than I could."

Croix started to watch the video.

"This was…"

"Yes, that's the drug effect. My mind was screwed because of it, " Gilbert said while taking deep breath. "Quite a mess, huh?"

"That drug you give to Spica…" Croix started to ask, but was cut off by the other man.

"My friends said this drug was a better version of the old one that they gave me before, containing all the positive effects and none of the negative ones, but I wasn't sure if what they said was true…"

"Why are you telling me this?" Croix asked.

"Because you asked." Gilbert gives him the simple answer, "And because you are a guy. I can't tell the girls because maybe they will tell Laura accidentally when they talking together. If Leglius asks me what the drug is, I will tell him the same answer I gave you," He added.

00000

"It seems Croix and Gilbert are getting along well recently." Laura started talking

"Although I was curious about that 'man's talk'…" Luca followed.

"Maybe they secretly like each other?" Jacqli said while giving her sly grin.

Laura and Luca looked directly at her.

"Eh? But they both were-" Luca quickly replied.

"Yeah, it's impossible!" Laura agreed.

"They were talking secretly to each other, discussing about something that they don't want the others to know. It's obvious that their relationship is grown. I merely giving out the possibility," Jacqli said, maintaining her smile.

The image ran wild in their minds.

"I…I will ask him later!" Laura said.

"Me…Me too!" Luca said.

Jacqli is still smiling. 'I think I'll mess with them for a while. It's...amusing.'

00000

"So when will you keep this from Laura?" Croix asked.

"As long as I can. I'm aware that she will know eventually, when I use that drug for the second time. When that time comes, I hope it will work like what my friends said. If not…" Gilbert takes a deep breath again.

"If you were careful, you would not have ever used that drug in the first place…" Croix said to him.

"Well, I will be. I will still carry it anyway; we don't know what will happen to us later, when I might need the extra power," Gilbert said.

Not long later, they arrived at the inn.

"Hum, well…I guess I will take a nap for a while. Maybe I should leave my weapons in the inn after all, nothing is happening now…" Gilbert said.

"Why were you carrying all of that anyway? We just walking around the town…" Croix said.

As they both step in, both of their shoulders were tapped. They both looked behind them, at their girlfriends, who were strangely emitting a deathly aura.

"May I talk to you for a while, please?" Luca and Laura both said in the unison.

Croix and Gilbert looked at each other.

"Did something happen?" Gilbert said.

"I don't kno-"Croix started to say before he and Gilbert were pushed upstairs, to each of their rooms.

Jacqli was still smiling, satisfied by her handiwork.

END OF CHAPTER 28


	29. Chapter 29

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 29 = Secret

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**15:00 Etna Inn**

Gilbert sighs in his room. After long conversation, he finally clear Laura's misunderstand about his relationship with Croix.

"Really, what makes you think that Croix and I have some…'close' relationship…" Gilbert shudders just from that word.

"Well, I was looking that you recently very close to him…And Jacqli said that maybe you and Croix maybe like each other…" Laura says. Gilbert facepalmed after hearing that. He made a mental note to talk to Jacqli later.

"Laura…I was straight, keep that in mind, okay?" Laura nod at him. 'I wonder how Croix will deal with Luca…'

"Uhm…Gilbert…" She tugs his shirt.

"Hm?"

"Can you…Tell me more about yourself?" Laura asks.

"Uh…Like what?" Gilbert asks back.

"Like…What was your job?"

"Well, Guess it," he says while smiling, to make her more curious.

"Let's see… You can carry some heavy stuff; and you fight monsters pretty well… You must be a soldier! Am I correct?" Laura guesses. Gilbert laughs hearing her guesses.

"No, not at all. I don't even work at any military parts. I was an ordinary college student," he tells her.

"College?"

"Yeah. Of course I was doing another job to get some more pocket money. I once part timing as a fry cook, delivery service… Nothing too physically hard."

"But you look so strong. I mean, you can carry heavy stuffs and not get tired. How?"

"Practice, I guess?" Gilbert raises his shoulder. "Being dragged by Croix to many place improve my stamina somehow. Sink or swim. If I can't follow, maybe I'll be kicked from the group."

"That's too harsh… I think Croix won't do it…"

"Maybe, but their mission won't wait for them. Remember when I was incapacitated? They are leaving me behind until I was recovered. I was just an addition to the team, nothing important." Gilbert then lays down to the bed. "Maybe if I was died here nobody will mourn for me," he chuckles.

"Don't say things like that, you are important!" Laura responds. She gets a bit angry. "I already lost my parents, I don't want to lose another important person to me, so…Please don't think like that…"

"Uhm…Sorry…" Gilbert apologizes; doesn't know how to deal with his girlfriend.

"You are important for me…Please remember that." Laura says as she rests her head on the top of Gilbert's chest, and holds his body tight. She doesn't want to lose him. She wants to hold tight her dearest…

**08:00 Etna Inn**

"Good morning." Lady Cloche says as she steps to the loby.

"Good morning, ma'am. Did you sleep well?" Leglius asks. Lady Cloche nod at him.

"Hm…Where is Jacqli, Gilbert, and Laura?" Luca notices someone is missing.

"Oh yeah… Where'd they go? "Croix wonders. "Luca, can you check them in their room?" Croix asks.

"I'll do it!" She says, and goes to upstairs. Croix then go to the inn keeper, asking about them.

"The short, black haired one left early in the morning, and hasn't come back since. For the other two, I don't know," the innkeeper informs.

"She left! Why...?" Cocona responds. Croix asks again if she left a word or two.

"Um, she just silently walked out... looking kinda menacing." the innkeeper informs again.

"That's Jacqli's way. I hope she's not up to something again." Lady Cloche comments.

"Now the only question is the two lovebir-" Amarie comments, before cut by a sound.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The party can recognize the sounds, its Luca, Gilbert, and Laura's. The sound died out. Croix instantly runs upstairs too, while the others waiting.

"I wonder what's happening…" Lady Cloche says. After a while, Croix and Luca go down, with Gilbert and Laura following behind.

"What happened?" Cocona asks.

"I better not say it." Croix tells her. Amarie's noticing another bite mark on Laura's neck. She smirks and walks to her.

"Having fun again with him, don't you?" she jokingly says. Laura's face goes red again.

"How yo-" she asks. Amarie points the bite mark. Laura instantly covers it with her hand.

"That's how you calm her down yesterday?"Croix asks to Gilbert.

"Sort of…"

"Really, what's going on here?" Cocona asks again.

"Well, they were both playing vampires!" Amarie says.

"Playing vampires?" she got confused.

"Yes, one of the player will bite the neck of the others like a va-" Amarie's explanation cut short by a smack to the back by Luca.

"I don't understand…" Cocona still confused.

"…Better if we go find Jacqli now..." Croix push the party to go, cut down the conversation to save her sister's mind.

"Have any idea where we should search?" Gilbert asks.

"I have one…"

**09.00 Cat House**

The party arrives at a big mansion.

"I never come to this place before. How you can you sure that she's here?"

"You were unconscious, remember? This is Jacqli and Laude's hideout." Amarie reminds him. As soon the party get inside, they meet a robot that looks like a four legged animal. Croix instantly get his weapon ready.

"Wait! It doesn't look like it's gonna attack," Luca stops him. Croix lowers his weapon and get closer to the robot.

"Bow bow!" it responds. Croix gets startled and fall on his bottom.

"Hahaha! That's so funny. It barks! Haha!" Amarie laughs, and pet the robot dog. It looks friendly, and fits the title 'robot-dog' better than Shun. Gilbert helps Croix back on his feet.

"Why you look so afraid to that robot?" Gilbert asks.

"That's the black robot that we fought when on Cloud Warf." Croix tells him.

"But it looks bulkier if I remember..."

"It can transform to carry Jacqli inside. Remember what I tell you before about things happened on Luca's Gaia?" Croix says, and moves deeper into the mansion. "Come on, I guess she's here. Let's look around."

Not long after, they found the person. Looks like she's packs some things now.

"Jacqli, there you are!" he calls her. "If you're leaving, say something before you go somewhere else."

"Why? It's not like I'm a child." Jacqli says nonchalantly.

"I'll get worried."

"You will?" Croix answers her with a nod. "I'm sorry. I'm not used to this, so I didn't know. If the lift generator under the Cat Mansion is broken, I thought I should gather my belongings here." she gives her reason. Gilbert looks at the packs; mostly books, and some stuff.

"Laura, where is my book?" he asks. Laura gives him the awful story book.

"What will you do with it?" she puzzled. Gilbert takes the book and gives it to Jacqli.

"Here. I can't stand reading the story," he says. Jacqli puts it inside the pack. She also gives him a book.

"You might like it. Think this as barter," she adds. He takes a glance at the book; it's not too thick. He opens and takes a quick look at the inside; it's a pictured book.

"Uh… Are you sure about this?"

"What? You don't like the book?"

" No, not that I don't like it, but… Well, since my book was...questionable..."

"It's not for me." Jacqli reminds him, with a smirk.

"Talk about the book later, okay?" Leglius break the conversation and asks a question. "By the way, what's Laude doing now? Do you know anything?"

Gilbert looks again at the book while the party talks; every page has a picture. The pictures itself are very light-themed; one of the pictures has two girls holding hand together, with some nice background. It seems the book was a story book intended for a child.

"Laura, can you tell me what this book about?" Gilbert asks her, who's listening on Jacqli's conversation.

"Eh, w-what? Oh, okay!" She gets a little surprised, and takes the book. Her face looks familiar with that book. "It's a compilation of short stories. My mom used to read me one when I was little..."

"How about the stories themselves? What are they about?"

"One of it was about the value of friendships, bonds, and there's my favorite that's talking about true love..." she tells him. Gilbert thought that it must be a good book; much better compared to that book that Major send in...But then, everything is good compared to _that _book.

"Laura, would you recite the story to me? Not here, I mean, when we have time-"

"Yes, of course! It'll be easier to me, since I already know the stories," she answers excitedly.

"Remember that I do this to learn reading though…So don't read it too fast…" Gilbert says, then joining the party's conversation again.

"…Are you from the Tower of Tyria, too?" Cocona asks to Jacqli.

"No. I'm from somewhere else."

"What! So you mean, there's another different tower?"

"That's right. This world is huge, and then there's an entirely different world where he comes from…" Jacqli refers to Gilbert. "Anyway, sorry I took up so much of your time. I'm done here, but I also want to stop by Promise Hill.

"Promise Hill? At the graves of the Royal Families?" Croix guesses.

"Yes. If it breaks off here, I have a feeling Promise Hill is going to fall, too. There's something I want to check about the two maidens that created Metafalica 400 years ago..."

"Nenesha and Infel?" Leglius guesses her too.

"Yes. Maybe we can get something at there." Croix nods at her idea, since they don't really have a destination for now. Then finally get moving again.

They move past the robot dog. It seems Jacqli has decided to leave it here.

"You don't carry your packs?" Gilbert asks.

"It has that covered." she points the robot dog, barks at her. He doesn't bother think how that cybernetic-canine can carry something, he doesn't really care about it anyway. If she says her things are already covered, so be it.

Although the idea of visiting grave of the royal family…Gilbert wonders what the place will looks like…

**END OF CHAPTER 29**


	30. Chapter 30

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 30 = Opera

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**1****1****:00 ****Promise Hill**

"Hm, it looks like an Aztec or Mayan's design..."

"What are you saying, Gil?" Cocona asks.

"Nah. Nothing important. It'll be long to explain..."

She lightly punch his ribs in response.

"Silly, we have a long time whilst walking! Why don't use it to tell me?"

"Alright..." Gilbert sighs while massaging his ribs. It hurts, even for a light punch. She's strong for a girl of her age. Granted, she can defend the older girls who's singing behind her.

"...What? How old is it? I though ancient technologies are better!"

"Er...My world was never getting a... 'technological regression' before. It should be natural that newer stuff is better than the older one."

"Yes, but they really can build something that big with only stones?"

"Stones and other stuffs. Remember that my world's current technology is considered ancient by Jacqli, and the building is really ancient in our-"

"Keep the voices low, please?" Jacqli stares at Gilbert, before looking back to the wall, searching something.

"Later, Cocona," he stops talking. After a while, Jacqli seems founds what she search.

"Found it. As I thought, it's sealed with a Hymnos Spell."

"A Hymnos Spell?" Croix did not understand.

"Yes. By talking in the Hymnos language, seals break, or doors open. "

"Like a password or something?" Gilbert also asks.

"Sort of. Here, let me show you," She says, before start to muttering something, almost like a chant. There is a little earthquake, before the floor in front of the wall emitting light. Seems like a portal.

"See, like that. Now we can enter their room."

"I thought the wall there will fall or like that effect..."

"I'll go with Jacqli, the rest stay here. I'm afraid there are some traps inside there." Croix commanded, before he steps into the portal along with Jacqli. They sit down around the portal.

"Talking about song..." Gilbert starts another conversation. "Are there any male singer in this world?"

"Well, there's one old man in Rashek that keep singing, not in Hymnos though..." Luca tells one.

"He's good?"

"Uh...He's good...for his age..." She's doesn't want to tell directly that he's actually bad.

"I mean...male professional singer. Is there anyone like that?"

"There isn't as far as my knowledge allows." Lady Cloche joins the conversation. "Is there one in your world?"

"Many."

"Can you give an example?"

Gilbert takes out his PDA and access a streaming site. Since all the song magic was opera-like, he decides to take an opera song, with a tenor singer.

As the song fills the air, he takes a look to the listener... They all looks really enjoying the song... About the end of the song, Lady Cloche lets out a small tears.

"The song... It fulls of sadness..."

"I agree... I don't know what he sings about, but he sounds really pained..." Luca also comments.

"What the song is about, Gilbert?"

"It's about..." he does something to the PDA, before continue. "A clown who discover that his wife's cheating with another man...Right before he went to do his job as a clown. This song is his talk to himself to keep the show goes on, turn the tears and distress into jest, and laugh at the grief that poisons his heart."

"What a cruel act!" Lady Cloche explodes right on the spot after she hears that. "Such an infidelity must be punished-"

"Whoa, whoa... Take it easy Lady Cloche... It was just a song. You should relax..." Gilbert calms her. She takes a deep breath, and goes back to sit. "Don't worry, this is only part of a drama. Opera, to be exact."

"Opera?" Cocona asks.

"Yes, like a drama, but they sang most of it."

"...Dare I ask how does the drama end?" Lady Cloche slowly says.

"Wait." Gilbert do something to his PDA again, and takes a deep breath. "... Do you really want to know it?"

"It doesn't end well, does it?" Luca says. Lady Cloche thinks awhile, before she makes her decision.

"...Tell me."

"Uh... He went mad and killed his wife. Oh, and the antagonist was showed laughing in the very end."

"Antagonist? Who?"

"The one who tells the protagonist that his wife's cheating." Not long after, Jacqli and Croix back from the portal.

"Getting something good?" Leglius asks.

"The previous maiden's diary," Croix gives the book to him. "Any ideas where we should go next?"

"Let's go back to my house. Isn't all of this tiring?" Luca suggests.

"Good idea. We go to Luca's house the-"

"Don't forget to buy some paints!" Cocona cut.

"For what?" Croix seems puzzled by his sister's statement.

"Don't you remember? We'll wash out the cruel messages on the house!"

"Alright. She has done so many for us. At least we can return a small bit of her favor by this." Croix agreed, and the party start their journey again.

**13:00 General Store**

"Sasha, are you there?" Lady Cloche calls into the store. Gilbert looks at the store: it looks pretty rundown.

"You sure we can find paints here?" He asks.

"Maybe, this is a general stor- Oh, right. You never been here before." Luca tells him. Not long after, a little girl runs out from inside of the store.

"Sis Clo, Sis Luca! Welcome!" She immediately greets. Gilbert wonder if she's younger than Cocona. Lady Cloche's expression also really light compared to her usually serious behavior. "What do you need?"

"We need some paints... Do you have some?"

"Of course! What color do you want? I have red, white..." The girl mentions the color.

"Hm... White sounds nice, isn't it?" Lady Cloche says.

"Ah, okay. I don't need something too fancy for my house anyway..."

"It's decided, then. The white one, please." Croix says. The girl goes inside, while the party waiting at the front.

"She calls Lady Cloche 'sis'?" Gilbert asks.

"Don't discuss it, okay?" Lady Cloche herself says. Gilbert raises his shoulder and obey her.

"Anyway, since we are here..." Cocona starts talking again. "Why don't you synthesizing something? I'm curious of what the recipe will turned out!" She speaks to Laura.

"Eh? I'm not sure we have the time..."

"Come on, you'll helped us if it turns out good!" Cocona tries to persuade her

"Mostly it turned to some strange thing though..." Croix says.

"Strange?" Gilbert turns his attention to him.

"Yeah. For example, we made a potion one time, and it turns out to become tea..." Croix says. Jacqli stares to him because of his statement."The point is, why don't you try it? It's harmless most of the time." Croix says to Laura.

"'Alright. If I can help our group, why not," Laura nod to him. "What will I make?"

"Wait," Croix reach his pocket, and take out a paper. "Just follow this recipe for starter. I'll help you if there's something hard to do."

"A bomb!?"

"Yes! Bombs that we usually use is my creation!" Luca immediately declares. "Don't be nervous. Just follow your instinct!"

Not long after, Sasha comes back, with some cans of paint.

'I swear all little girls that I've ever seen here is strong...' Gilbert thinks silently.

"Sorry to keep waiting. Here you go!"

"Thank you Sasha." Lady Cloche says, and hands to her a handful of money.

"Uhm, Sis Clo, this is too mu-"

"Keep the change, and be a good girl, okay?" Lady Cloche quiet her down with a smile.

"...Thank you Sis Clo!"

"Anyway, can we do some synthesizing now? I hope it won't burden you too much." Croix asks.

"Of course it won't! I'll be happy to help. Who will do it? Sis Clo or Sis Luca?"

"Uhm, me," Laura speaks. Sasha looks at her for a while, before Luca decides to introduce them each other.

"This is Laura. Laura, Sasha. She's the shopkeeper of this general store."

"Hello Laura! You must be Sis Clo and Sis Luca's friend. Don't worry, synthesizing's perfectly safe!" Sasha bows a bit as an introduction.

Laura starts to synthesizes according to the recipe, helped by Croix. She tries hard.

"Hey, may I ask something Croix?" Gilbert says to Croix,

"I'm hearing."

"Luca and Lady Cloche has tried this recipe, right? What it turned to?"

"Luca made a standard bomb, but Lady Cloche's bomb turned to a bath toy..."

"Uh...How?"

"She at first intent to make a bomb that walks to the enemy and explode... But the fuse even not connected at all." Croix close the bomb casings that Laura give to him.

"Um...Why's the gunpowder's not used..." Sasha looks at the leftover ingredients.

"It's the one on that case, isn't it?" Laura says.

"It's magnesium, not gunpowder... It's too late to change it..." Croix informs her, and facing Gilbert. "Now you know how the result can be vary on every creator."

"Well, let's try it then. May we, Laura?" Gilbert asks. Laura nod to him, giving the permission. Croix steps outside, sets the fuse and throws it far away.

**Boom!**

The grenade produces a really bright light, even when seeing it from far away.

"That's really shiny!" Cocona comments.

"It can blind enemies with sheer light at close range. It should be useful."

"What do you want to call the bomb?" Sasha asks.

"How about... 'shiny bomb'?" Laura suggests.

"It's a bit too plain..." Cocona gives her opinion.

"It's a bomb Cocona... It doesn't need a fancy name." Croix agrees with Laura on the name. "We should go now, or it'll be too late at night to paint the house." He stands up and says his farewell to Sasha.

"Thank you! Please come again!"

**END OF CHAPTER 30**


	31. Chapter 31

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 30 = Opera

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**15:00 Luca's House**

After some walk, the party finally back to Luca's house.

"I'm home..." Luca greets her mother as she enters the house.

"Welcome home. You must be tired," Ms Reisha smiles. "I'll make you all dinner."

'This is certainly a better atmosphere than before, when Luca and her has some family problems.' Gilbert thought, smiling a bit.

"Okay... Oh, um, Croix, Let's go talk in my room!" Luca runs off to upstairs.

"Hey, Luca?" Croix puzzled by her reaction. He sighs and follows her upstairs. Ms. Reisha's attention now turned to the cans of paint that Leglius carry.

"Excuse me, but what why you carry some can of paints?"

"We'll do some redecoration for your house." Leglius answers her.

"Uhm, you don't have to..."

"Please... This is at least what we can do to help..." Lady Cloche herself says. Ms. Reisha close her eyes for a while, then she gives her smile again.

"Thank you."

"Well, shall we go, then?" Gilbert takes one can, and go outside, along with most of the party, leaving Lady Cloche and Ms. Reisha alone.

"Um... "

"Yes?"

"Should I help you prepare dinner?"

00000

"You ever paint before?" Leglius asks, hands him a brush.

"Long time ago, for my neighborhood's house," Gilbert tries to open the can with his hands, but it won't budge. Cocona takes the can from him and opens it easily.

"Here Gilbert! I'll start from that part!" She says, and starts painting the left side. He sighs and paint the front side. Embarrassing that he can't open a paint can, but a little girl do it like it was nothing.

"May I ask something?" Laura sits behind Gilbert.

"Hit me."

"Does this ever happened in your world? I mean, when people got angry and they start..."

"...Do some horrible things like this? Yes. It's natural that when people angry over something, they will search someone to blame, and Ms. Reisha got the short stick in this case." Gilbert sighs again.

"Oh, where's Lady Cloche?" Amarie looks around.

"I don't see her go outside, she probably still insi-"

"Ahhh! Wait, that's not the right one!" Ms. Reisha's sound comes from inside, seems panicking.

"Huh? It's not?" Now's Lady Cloche's sound that comes out.

"She cooks? I don't know she ever cook. I though she has a servant to do that," Gilbert says.

"She is," Leglius comfirms.

"Let's hurry with the walls then! I want to know what will be our dinner tonight!" Cocona starts to paint faster.

00000

"What!? We don't have any dinner for tonight!?" Luca's surprised reaction gained attention of the wall painters who just finished their job.

"Sorry, I think I went a little too far with my adventure here..." Lady Cloche apologizes.

"It's alright. You can start learning now," Ms. Reisha pat her back to put back her spirit.

"What's wrong?" Gilbert asks.

"Lady Cloche...uh..." Croix stops, can't say his next words.

"I made everyone's dinner not edible, sorry..." Lady Cloche apologizes, again. Gilbert takes a pity to her, she reminds her when he first try cooking.

"Let me see, it can't be that bad," He walks to the pot, and find some... Enigmatic red soup...It makes his eye goes watery. "...By all my respect, what did you put in... that..."

"I put too many spices in it... so I thought adding some milk will fix it, but..." Gilbert takes a bowl and put some of the soup as Lady Cloche talks. "Wait, Gilbert! Don't eat that, I don't want to make you sick!"

"I know that feel when I screwed up my first cooking, Lady Cloche. All hard work went waste..." He takes a spoon, ready to eat it. "That's why I'll eat this. Besides, some spicy soup won't kill me."

*Slurp!*

Gilbert flinches, the taste is awful...

00000

"Hey, can you get us some pizza?" Billy asks.

"For what? We already eat today, right?" Karen gets puzzled.

"It's for them," He points to the screen.

"Give me three minutes," Hans sighs and steps out the room.

"Hans, your audience, please?" A scientist calls him on hallway.

"What is it?"

"It's about the test subject," he starts while walking. "Although his survival is important for the research data, I concern about the energy usage to send in some... trivial things."

"Oh, come on. It's not like that we teleporting stuff often."

"I aware of that, but throwing around nitroglycerin that cost-"

"Blame The Board for that. They give it and expect us to use it liberally. Heck, maybe they even researching on **us**."

"I won't be surprised if it turned out like that. Lots of money was spent on this project, and they surely want result."

"There ARE results. Field data on the eye, that drug result on human beings, and hows that damn teleporter thing works. They won't do this far if there are no results." Hans reach the phone at the lobby, but stopped before he can dial it. "Want a pizza?"

"What did I say about sending in trivial things!?"

00000

"Here Gilbert, some water might help..." Laura gives him the glass.

"Hah...I think I won't eat after this for a day... Or two..."

"You disobey my direct order. I told you not to eat that for a reason. If you disobey an order like this, how I can trust you?" She scolds him.

"I'm sorry..." Gilbert apologizes. Lady Cloche sighs and looks at him.

"But... Thanks for eating my cooking. I'll try harder next time."

"Well... At least I know what that no matter how different siblings is, they must be has something in common." He whispers to Croix.

"And what is it?"

"Bad cooking."

END OF CHAPTER 31


	32. Chapter 32

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 32 = Sharing foods

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**18:00 Luca's House**

"Good that we got emergency ration from your friends, Gilbert! I thought we won't eat anything today!" Cocona chows down a slice of the pizza. Luca takes a paper and start writing.

"Bread...Cheese...Meat...Mushroom..."

"What are you doing?" Croix looks at her.

"I write down the ingredients, maybe I can synthesize a food like this later!"

"Please make something edible out of it..." He comments.

"I'll try! Please have faith in me!" She grins.

"Uhm, Gilbert, let's do your reading lesson. You aren't doing anything after this, right?" Laura asks.

"Well, fine. I'm curious with that book anyway..." Gilbert finishes his slice of pizza, move his position to her. Laura opens the book and start telling him a story.

"Anyway, how's the wall? Does it look pleasant now?" Lady Cloche asks.

"We did our best, but we need second opinion! Why don't you see it yourself?" Cocona stands up. "Ms. Reisha, please see our paint outside too! If there's anything that you don't like, just tell us!"

"I...You don't have to...I mean, alright..." She's reluctant at first, but agrees anyway. She goes outside accompanied with most of the party.

00000

"Hm... Don't you think this is too plain? It should be has some... artistic value," Lady Cloche starts to talk after seeing the now-cleared wall.

"We only bought one paint color, and I doubt any of us can paint something that's nice to look..." Croix explains.

"It looks nice now, you don't have to add anything more. Thank you," Ms Reisha praise them. "Let's go inside, you have to rest for tomorrow, right?"

The party accept at her suggestion, and go back inside.

00000

**20:00 Luca's House**

"...then her song pass through many generations, and immortalize their declaration of love," Laura closes the book. "So, how is it?"

"Uh, there's some alphabets that I missed,,,"

"No, I mean the story. Is it good?"

"Well, I don't really get into the storybook like this... but I think it's good... Gilbert tries to please his girl. "Did you like the story?"

"Yes. It makes me dream when I can find my prince, mother said that I'll find mine eventually, just like how she find hers... and she's correct," Laura smiles.

*Hoaam...*

"I'm sleepy... I'll-"

"Gilbert...You... Do you want to sleep on my lap? I..." She flustered.

"Eh? How about you? I don't want you to sit all the night-"

"It's okay, I can sleep while sitting," she fixes her sitting position. "Please..."

Gilbert sighs, and lays his head on her lap. Laura pats his head slowly.

"You sing to me once when I was weak... Let me return the favor for you..." She closes her eyes. "hEmmErYN-"

00000

**07:00 Luca's House**

"Awww... They're so cute..." Luca looks at the sleeping couple.

"Doesn't I ever sleep on your lap before?" Croix asks her.

"Yes, but it's in my cosmosphere, while they show it off. I kind of jealous with them, already consuming their love in-"

"Should we wake them up?" Cocona asks.

"I don't think it's necessary, since we don't have anything that we should do-" Croix says.

"Oh, right! I forgot to do something for Mrs. Lahr!" Luca slaps her own forehead.

"Dive therapy?" Croix guesses, since it's her job.

"Yeah. I said I couldn't, but she begged me just this once, so..." Luca looks at her boyfriend. "Please, let me go to Rakshek real fast. I'll finish it up quick!"

"Yeah, sure. We'll be hanging around in Rakshek for a while," Croix sighs. "I guess we have to wake them up..."

"Come on lovebirds, wake up! We'll leave you both if you don't!" Amarie claps near their ears. They both wake up from their slumber... And find the whole party surround them.

"Eh?! Whawhawha-" Laura shudders and blushes when realized what happened.

"We'll go to Rakshek soon, so get up and take a bath with us, okay? Unless you want to take it with your boyfriend-" Amarie teases her.

"I'll go, I'll go!" She runs off. The girls followed her behind.

"What we'll do?" Gilbert stands up and asks.

"Luca has some business in Rakshek. She said it won't be long," Croix explains while Gilbert massage his neck. "Something's wrong?"

"No, I feel... better actually. Sleeping on her lap must be do good for me..." He wears his hood, and take his weapons.

"Why you still wearing the hood? I think there will be nothing trouble us at Rakshek."

"I'm sure most people won't appreciate when looking at my mechanical eye..."

00000

**10:00 Rakshek**

The party's at the front of a restaurant.

"Okay, I'll be gone for just a bit. Sorry!" Luca bows a few times.

"Yeah, go ahead. Don't make her wait any longer," Croix gives her the permission. Luca runs off to the dive shop.

"Hey Croix, I want to do a little shopping if that's okay," Lady Cloche asks him.

"Yeah, sure. Where should we go?"

"The general store. The rest stay here, I'll be okay," she says, then departs off with Croix.

"So... What should we do now?" Gilbert asks.

"How about... We'll treat you something for saving us from starving yesterday!" Amarie gives an idea.

"Eh? I don't really saving us. I mean, it's a coincidence that they send in some food-"

"Good idea! Come inside, Gilbert! Don't reject our offer!" Cocona pulls him to the door of the restaurant.

"But, I think... Fine then..." Gilbert sighs and go with them.

00000

"Welcome to Bonbertan! May I- Oh!" The waitress stops in the middle of her talking. "Where's Luca and Croix?"

"Luca has dive therapy business, and Croix helps Lady Cloche shopping," Amarie tells her.

"I see... Well, how I can help you then?"

"We want to treat our friend some food!" Cocona pushes Gilbert to the front.

"Come, sit down! Here's the menu, just tell me what you want!" The waitress pulls a chair. Gilbert sighs and sits down. He looks to the menu, and find some interesting food name.

"Soda in burger? So it's like... a packet of burger with soda?"

"It's my creation. Handy if you're eating with only one hand, so you can use the other hand to defend yourself," Jacqli explains.

'Interesting... One soda in burger, please."

00000

"Well, that's unexpected..." In front of Gilbert lies a burger... With strange blue sauce between it's buns. He taste it; that's soda. "So it's literally soda in burger... Creative idea I must say, but..." He stares at Jacqli.

"What?"

"How you can make a soda in sauce-like liquid like this?"

"Chef's secret," She produces a smug smile. He shrugs and takes a bite.

"Hmm, it's delicious too! Laura, you should taste it too!" He pushes the half-eaten burger to her.

"Uhm, it's okay. I'm not-"

"Come on, open your mouth..." He takes the burger and ready to feed her. She's blushes and opens her mouth. He slowly puts the burger inside her mouth, and she chews it.

"Aww... You should be proud Laura; Croix doesn't showing his affection on public, while your boyfriend doesn't mind spreading the love to the air!" Amarie pats the person in question on the back. Laura's face gets luminescent now.

"Hey, Jacqli, can you teach Luca and Lady Cloche how to cook-"

"No."

END OF CHAPTER 32


	33. Chapter 33

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 33 = Downhill Situation

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**11:00 Rakshek**

Croix, Luca, and Lady Cloche enters the restaurant, gathering back with the rest of the party.

"Sorry we took so long! You guys eat here while waiting?" Luca asks.

"Nah, just Gilbert. We're treating him for saving us from starving yesterday!" Amarie explains. Croix looks at the plate and notice there's some blue-ish liquid on it.

"Don't tell me you're eating-"

"Yes, he eats my creation," Jacqli smiles. Croix sighs.

"Be glad that you're not eating the deadly part of her food..." He pats Gilbert's shoulder. "Let's go back, Luca and Lady Cloche have managed to get the last infelsphere."

"Finally. I can't wait until the time all this mess is over."

**13:00 Luca's House**

Luca and Lady Cloche gets into the Infelsphere on the top room, while the others wait eagerly bellow.

"Huff. I can't waiting for them to create the land. Finally we can rest after this," Gilbert starts to talk.

"We can't. Just because Metafalica will be created doesn't mean all the problems will be over," Leglius says.

"But at least our one giant problem will be solved after this, the rest should be easy to follow."

"Talking about future, what will you do after all of this done Gilbert?" Croix asks.

"Well, I'll wait until my friends at my world can produce another teleporter to send me back. I'll keep helping you guys while waiting, don't worry."

"How about her?" Jacqli points to Laura.

"Oh, right..." Gilbert massages his forehead. "Laura..."

"I would be happy if you can stay here Gilbert..." She's twiddling her fingers. "I have house to live in, and you can get a job after Metafalica is created, so..."

"You can join the Knights regiment if you want, you've proven yourself capable." Leglius adds.

"I don't know. I have families and friends back at my world, it's not nice to just leave them..."

"You're right, you can't just leave your parents..." Laura takes a deep breath. "I would go with you, then."

"Are you serious? It's a totally different world Laura. Think about it-"

"I don't want to leave you... I'll follow you to your world if it means I can stay with you..."

Lady Cloche steps down from upstairs, and she looks really terrified.

"Lady Cloche? What's wrong? Where's Luca?" Croix immediately asks.

"She..."

"Luca...Wake up!" Ms Reisha cries while shaking her daughter's body in futile attempt to wake her up.

"I'm sorry, if only I was stronger..." Lady Cloche apologizes.

"No... It's not your fault..."

"So she suddenly became confused in the Infelsphere?" Jacqli tries to analyze the situation.

"Yes."

Jacqli thinks for a while, before comes up with a solution.

"You should have this analyzed. Let's look for a Dive Shop that'll cooperate with us. "

"Then let's go to Rakshek! A lot of Luca's friends are there, I'm sure they'll help us!"

"Are you sure? You're going to get bashed again."

"If it increases our chances to save Luca, I don't care," Lady Cloche makes up her mind.

"You're right. I hope they won't trouble us again. Let's go," Croix commands and carries his girlfriend.

"Please... Please save Luca... " Ms. Reisha pleas to him.

"It'll be alright, Ms. Reisha. As soon as we find out, we'll be back,"

The party steps into the train, with a new objective: Cure Luca.

*Duk!*

Gilbert looks behind. He notices an old man, but he quickly disappeared.

'Who is tha-'

"Gilbert, don't just stand there!" Cocona pulls him into the train and it's door closed. What is this uneasy feeling...

**15:00 Rakshek**

Croix whose carrying Luca enter the dive shop, followed by Lady Cloche and Jacqli. The others guard outside, in case of another angry mob coming for Lady Cloche.

"Never gone smoothly for us, isn't it?" Gilbert sits on the side of the door to the dive shop.

"Come on Gilbert, I'm sure Luca'll be fine!" Cocona pats his back.

"Of course, we've gone through worse. I have no doubt that Luca'll recover, but still... So close to Metafalica, and then this happene-"

"HELP!" A shout can be heard from inside. The party rushes in and find Luca's awakened, but another woman lays down inside a big machine, unconscious..

"Quick, bring her to the hospital!" The dive shop owner commands. A man takes the woman out from the dive shop.

"Nana..." Luca says as the man carries her friend away.

'It seems there's another accident... At least Luca's recovered now,' Gilbert sighs. 'I hope this is the last problem that our party have today...'

**17:30 Luca's House**

The party goes back to Luca's house. Luca really wants to go back to the Infelsphere immediately, but Croix wants her to go back to Ms. Reisha first, so she won't be worried about Luca anymore.

"After we create Metafalica, I'll make sure to show Nana the whole land myself. I have to," Luca says as the party comes down from the train.

*Creak!*

Croix opens the door. It's quiet inside, and there isn't any sign of Ms. Reisha here.

"Mom?" Luca tries to call for her, but no response.

"Look! A letter!" Cocona notices there's something on the table. She hands the letter to Croix, and he proceeds to read it.

"Goddammit!" Croix crushes the paper.

"What was mom said?"

"Ms. Reisha... She's going with Laude to Moon Culvert! He said he knows how to wake you up! She's in danger! "

"Laude!? " Jacqli looks surprised.

'Too many problems rise today...' Gilbert massages again his forehead. "Anyone know how to reach this 'Moon Culvert' place?"

"We can get to it from the Bell Strike Hall. The elevator will take us right there." Leglius informs.

"Luca, you wait here. I'll go save her!" Croix gives an order. Luca, however, disagreed.

"I wanna go, too!"

"Luca! You're not in the best shape right now!" Croix tries to convince her to keep her in the house.

"I know... I still feel a little dizzy, but I have to go!"

"Luca, don't push yourself! We'll be sure to bring her back!"

"Please, Croix, let me go with you. If we leave her alone, she's going to die. We have to help her, quick!" Luca insists. Croix knows he can't keep arguing with Luca. He have to rescue Ms. Reisha.

"...Alright, let's go together," he finally let her go.

"Thanks..."

**19:30 Grand Bell Strike Hall  
**

"None of the guards seen anything? How he can get past our security here?" Lady Cloche complains as the party enter the elevator.

"Maybe there's more then one entrance to the Moon Culvert. Remember, this is Laude that we are talking about," Jacqli gives her assumption.

*Bzzztt!*

"Excuse me," Gilbert takes his PDA and answers the call. "Ghost here."

"Speak English, I'll brief you something important," Major voice comes out from it.

"Something important?"

"Yes..." He takes a deep breath. "About Ms. Reisha's death."

END OF CHAPTER 33


	34. Chapter 34

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 34 = Do the right thing.

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**19:35 Lift**

"What!? When will this happe-"

"Whoa, chill dude! It's typical in RPG if one important character is dead, don't you think?" Major calms him down. "It'll be happening when Raki shows up. Remember, that robot girl who slash your eye?"

"Of course, I remembered it. So it'll kill Ms. Reisha?"

"Sort of... And, don't try to save her, seriously."

"What? Why not? She's been good to us, she's given the rest of the party her house, not to mention it's Luca's mother-"

"No, you can't. I don't know what would happen if you disturb the story **that** big. The success of the maidens to create Metafalica may change if you save Ms. Reisha, since her death strengthens the bonds between Luca and Cloche. Don't risk it man."

"But-"

"Don't. I don't want to telling you her death, but if I'm not, you might be trying to save her when Raki comes. Do the right thing Ghost. This time, don't disturb the story. Major out."

Gilbert puts his PDA back, but he can't stop thinking what he'll going to do. Letting other people died is pretty wrong... Especially this is Ms. Reisha that he's talked about. He looks to Lady Cloche's and Luca's face. What will she do if they know that Ms. Reisha'll be die? They'll surely try to avert the situation, no matter what. But the risk... If they failed to create Metafalica, then millions of people's life will be...

"Gilbert, what's wrong?" Laura asks her boyfriend, since he looks so confused.

"Nothing... I'm just worried about Miss Reisha." He keeps the truth from her. He keeps thinking it even when the lift arrives at the Moon Culvert.

00000

**19:40 Moon Culvert**

The party hear a familiar voice: 's. She's... Singing.

"I can hear it from down there!" Cocona says.

"Gilbert, can you pinpoint her position?" Leglius asks. Gilbert nods and starts using his eye.

'Activate sound detector.' The readings on his eye then shows many different locations. He sighs and tries another devices, but no result. She's too far. "Sorry, I can't pinpoint her location. Her sound resonates all over this place. I need to get closer."

"Going down, then." Croix leads the party further into Moon Culvert. Gilbert tries to not letting his mind shaken by thoughts about Ms. Reisha, it can affect his aim and combat readiness.

00000

"Any luck, Gilbert?" Lady Cloche asks her as they descend from the floor with smaller lift. He uses his eye again, and shake his head.

"Sorry, still not close enoug- Wait! Ambush!"

*Whoosh!*

Some robots hover to the party as they step out from the lift.

"Get to position!" Croix yells.

00000

"How about now, Gilbert?" Lady Cloche asks again when the party steps out.

"Pardon me Lady Cloche, but could you not asking me the same thing each time we venture deeper into this place? I'm doing it even if you didn't told me to." Gilbert can understand her worries, but she starts to irritate him. "Wait, I think I got her. I can sense louder voice, north from here. I think we are on the right floor."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

00000

The party finally find Ms. Reisha, along with Laude, in the centre of a big room. Gilbert splits off with the party as usual, supporting the party from afar, at a hidden spot somewhere in the room.

'Activate target marker.' He scans the entire room. Ms. Reisha's here, but where's that robot girl? He then decided to observe what the party's doing. 'Activate speech detecto-'

*Bbbbrrrrr!*

Gilbert can feel the place's shaking, but he keep his sight on the party. Somehow Luca got trapped inside an electrical sphere thing, connected to a satellite ball thing. After a while, the sphere disappears, letting Luca falls to the floor. The satellite ball then launches a red gemstone to Laude, which he catch it.

'What the hell is happening here?'

He wants to shoot that old man, but he doesn't look threatenin-

*Whooosh!*

Suddenly, a robot girl descend from nowhere and knocks Laude off the edge. He's dropping the stone and falling to the abyss. Gilbert immediately aim his rifle to her.

'Do the right thing Ghost. This time, don't disturb the story.'

Major's sound buzzing out in his head.

' The success of the maidens to create Metafalica may change if you save Ms. Reisha...'

Doubt clouds his heart. He's not sure if he wants to shoot Raki or not. Millions of people's lives are at stake here. Should he gambled their lives, to save one woman from her supposed death? What he should do?

*Bzzzzttt!*

Raki starts to charge a shot. She'll shot... Luca, who's holding the red gemstone that Laude drops.

*Dup!*

Gilbert's heart stops for less than a second, as his reflex takes over his control over his body. He has to protect the maidens.

*FFFWWWIIIIP!*

His finger pulls the trigger.

Bullet slides from the chamber, travelling across the room.

*BAM!*

It hits the robot girl's arm, ripping her body, then sudden heat produced from the bullet, burning the girl's metallic insides, before it explodes.

*BOOM!*

The shot throws the robot girl's body, and her shot directed upwards instead, saving... Ms. Reisha from being shot. She was pushing Luca out from Raki's shot.

Gilbert has saved Ms. Reisha from her supposed death.

Raki quickly moves with her jet wings to take the red gemstone that Luca drops when she's pushed by Ms. Reisha, and teleports away.

"Damn it! She doesn't down from that shot..." Leglius cursed. Luca runs to her mother.

"Luca! Are you-"

"What are you doing!? You could've kill yourself!" Luca cuts her mother's question and starts to scolds her.

"Luca, don't be like that, she's trying to save you..." Croix tries to calm her down.

"But if she got killed..." She can't counter talk him, and instead turns to her mother again. "Geez, Mom! Please stop putting yourself in danger! You're making all of us worried! You don't have to help me, I believe my friends would help me when I'm in danger!"

"Hey, give Ms. Reisha a break, okay? She must be tired from all of this." Gilbert walks to the party position. "Are you alright, Ms. Reisha?"

"I'm fine... Thanks..." She tries to walk, but she seems really shaken.

*Grab!*

Luca supports Ms. Reisha's left shoulder as her mother walks.

"Luca..."

"Don't say anything Mom. Promise to me that you'll rest when we get home."

*Grab!*

Lady Cloche also supports her right shoulder.

"Leyka..."

"Please follow Luca's advice... We'll help you until we're home."

Gilbert smiles as he looks at them. Maybe... He's doing the right thing after all? But now, millions of life is being gambled... He can only hope that the maidens are able to create Metafalica, even if Ms. Reisha's not killed.

"Nice shot back there, Gilbert!" Cocona raises her right hand to him, which he slaps it. "May I borrow your gun? You know, the one that you used to shot that robot girl." Normally, he won't let anyone carry it, especially a little girl like Cocona, but since she's probably stronger than him... He gives his M107CQ to her, just for this once. "Hmm... I wonder why she isn't down in one shot... Maybe your gun has malfunctioned?"

"Don't shoot that thing Cocona, I don't want you have any shoulder injury..." Croix immediately warn her. "And... Thanks Gilbert. If you didn't shoot Raki-"

"Don't sweat it. That's my role after all, right? Anyway," he grabs something on his back. "That robot leaves this when she's away."

"That's Raki's energy sword! What would you do with it?" Shun asks Gilbert.

"I dunno. Maybe I put it into a good use." He holds the grip tightly, but nothing comes out. "Uh... Any idea how to use it?"

"Put that back Gilbert. Maybe Cynthia knows what to do with it. We'll head to there if we have the chance."

00000

"Bad... This is bad..." Billy mumbles.

"Well, you are not telling him that saving Luca leads to saving Ms. Reisha." Karen put the blame on him.

*Kriek!*

A scientist comes into the room.

"Every volunteer in room 16, please report to the board, now."

END OF CHAPTER 34


	35. Chapter 35

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 35 = Obsession

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**21:00 Luca's House**

"How's Ms. Reisha now?"

Croix asks Luca, whose coming out from upstairs.

"She's sleeping now. I hope she won't bother us anymore..." Luca sighs. "Thanks Gilbert. Without you, she would be..."

"I'm just doing my job, don't sweat it," Gilbert turns to Shun. "Can you explain what's going on back there?"

"Raki is obviously hacked," he starts his story. "And most likely, Frelia too..."

"At this rate, the world is doomed," Jacqli comments.

"Is there any way we can follow Raki up into the heavens?" Cocona throws her question to the robot dog too.

"Sadly, it's not that easy. There's a sea of plasma called the Blastline on the way to the heavens. A normal human would vaporize as soon as they hit it," he stops for a while. "But, over 400 years ago, there was a tower that rose all the way to the heavens. It bridged the gap between Sol Marta and our world. But after the war 400 years ago, the Goddess removed it."

"Hehehe..." Jacqli smiles. "By 'removed,' you mean it was sealed away from our sight."

"Very good."

"Wait... Sealed from our sight?" Gilbert looks confused. "You mean, it's turned invisible?"

"The word that you're looking for is 'deconstructed,'" Shun corrects him. "Anyway, Jacqli's right, it's sealed. But it's impossible to break it."

"Why's that?" Croix asks again.

"As I said before, Frelia no longer has enough power to reveal the tower. If she tried to, she'd lose control of the Rim, and it would fall immediately."

"That's sucks..."

"So there's really no other way to break the seal?" questions Laura.

"... There is, but you won't like it. I'll only tell if there's no other way."

"...We have to finish Metafalica first," Luca suggests. "Lady Cloche, let's enter the Infelsphere again tonight."

"Luca, are you sure? You should rest for now, or-" Croix's worry about his girlfriend, but she speaks again before he can finishes his sentence.

"I'm okay! I have a promise to keep, so..." She walks to upstairs. "I'll wait in my room."

Lady Cloche feels his worry, but Luca has a point: They have to finish Metafalica as quickly as possible. Croix have to trust them for this matter. She walks upstairs following Luca. Gilbert taps Croix's shoulder.

"Hey, don't make your face like that. We have to trust them, right?"

"I know, it just..." Croix shakes his head. "Cocona, don't look into the barrel of that gun!"

"Huh? I'm just checking it Cro! It won't do harm until someone pull the trigger, right Gilbert?" Cocona glares.

"This is why I'm not letting you holding my speargun..." He massages his forehead. "Give it back to Gilbert."

"Spoilsport," Cocona slowly put the gun on Gilbert's side.

'It's scary how she carried that gun without much effort, considering Vera's weight...' Gilbert thought as he eject the magazine and the bullet in the chamber. "Got any spare cloth to clean this Croix?"

"Here," he throws one to him. It's dirty, showing how often the cloth used to clean his speargun. "Know how to strip it? Cleaning only the outer part of the gun won't do much, at least for my gun,"

"Wait, how you clean your speargun's inside? I've never see you doing it before."

"I only have to press some buttons to start it's maintenance routine. If it's malfunctioned I have to bring it to Cynthia as soon as possible though, so I usually carrying two of these in case one of them is not usable in combat. You used to use one of them, right?" Croix tells.

"Uh huh. I think I have to call my friends on the other side how to strip this thing..."

Gilbert takes his PDA to contact them, but he notices that all of them are offline.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't contact them... Probably gone to sleep," he yawns. "We need some rest too after this tiring day..."

"I hope there won't be another incident after this..." Croix puts his glasses on the table and lays on the mat. The girls walk to upstairs to rest, except Laura. She slowly moves to Gilbert

"Um, Gilbert... Can we talk?" Laura says in a low voice.

"What is it?"

"Well... The place where you live on the another world... It used different language, right? I want to learn your language, so I won't have any trouble speaking to the people on your world. I mean, it'll be a trouble if I gone to your world without any speaking ski-"

"Laura... Are you really sure if you want to follow-"

*Smooch!*

She kisses him on the mouth.

"Please hear me. I understand if you want to go back to your world, you still have your parents, your school, your previous life..." Her eyes locks to his. "On the other hand, both of my parents are dead, I have nothing left in my life... Until you stepped in and save me. I only have you now..."

"But the one whom cured you is-"

"Gilbert, without you I'll be dead now even after Luca and Lady Cloche cured me. This is my decision, I'll follow you no matter what happened."

He looks to her eyes too; She's serious about this matter.

"Look... It's already night, I'll start teaching you some words tomorrow, okay?"

"Thank you!" She kisses him again, then goes upstairs with the other girls. Gilbert sighs.

"You're not happy she's coming?" Croix opens his eyes.

"No... In fact, I'm really happy she decided to go with me... But I think she grows... too attached to me. I mean, she thinks she has nothing left in her life other than me! What about her distant family? Her friends? Can't she-"

"Easy there. I think that's normal compared to Lady Cloche's fanclub..."

"Wait, she has a fanclub?"

"Yes, many of them if not all I.P.D that we saved were joined to the fanclub. Some of these members are... Fanatical about her."

"Ugh, fanatical fangirls..." Gilbert shudders.

"They're not that bad actually. We got a lot of help from them: Supplies, news about what's going on recently on an area, locations of nearby I.P.D infected that we can save... I don't think we could do this much without them," Croix closes his eyes again. "Anyway, if you do have a problem with Laura, you should talk to her directly about it. I can't help on your personal problem."

"I know..." Gilbert takes a deep breath. "Thanks Croix."

"What for?"

"For willing hear my problem."

00000

"We have made our decision. We're sorry, but this is the best-"

"'The '_best_'!? You'll destroy the world! There are so much stuff that we haven't discover-"

"The stake is too high. One more accident like before and all the blame will be directed to us. This is only a safety measure: If the subject successfully stopped this... Sublimation thing, then we will done nothing to the continent. Know that destroying such a land rich in knowledge is not our wish, but some security measures has to be done."

"...I understand, but could we at least continue to support the subject?"

"While indeed that your help may raise the subject's success, but we can't allow the device keep running whilst threat is still there. We'll continue to recreate another teleportation device, but we'll close the connection to our world until the threat is eliminated; By the subject's action, or ours. Your team still able to support him until tomorrow's midnight. You can go now."

The man walks away, but stops when the older man recalls him again.

"Oh, and talk to defense research department. Thanks to the world's data that we've recovered, we recently have produced something... useful. Give it to the subject to increase his success chance."

END OF CHAPTER 35


	36. Chapter 36

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 36 = Parents

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**07:00 Luca's House**

"Gilbert, wake up..."

'Urgh...'

The man open his eyes, and he finds his girlfriend on his side, trying to wake him up.

"Yeah, I'm getting up. What's the matter?"

"Your PDA... It's shaking," she points to the device on the small table. He immediately takes it then access the chat room.

"This is Ghost," Gilbert says in English. "Finally, I've tried to contact you yesterda-"

"Gilbert, we have some bad news," Billy cuts him with a serious face, and he uses his real name. "I'll let Hans explain."

"Thanks. Gilbert, remember when hibernation hits Metafalls before? You remember the moment after you inject the drug?"

"I don't know... I only remember that I have to find Lady Cloche and Luca to treat my wounds."

"Quick recap; Frelia used hibernation, sending people minds to Infel Pira, but stopped by Luca. What we didn't expect that the song effected here as well."

"Really? How bad was the effect?"

"Imagine half of the population on the state turned brain-dead. The effect is temporary, but it still causes chaos everywhere," Hans explains. "Anyway, since there will be another song magic with similar effect, the organization decided to make some fail-safe. Today is the last day we can support you. After that, they'll cut all connections to our world... temporary. "

"What!? But I can't survive without-"

"You can. You have survived until now, and you'll survive without our help," he tries to motivate him.

"Anyway Gilbert," Billy speaks again. "Your parents call. They want to talk to you directly. I thought you might want to chat with them while you can. Should I-"

"Connect them to me," Gilbert responses. Billy nods and routes the phone call to him.

"Hello?"

He can hear a woman calls. He knows who owns that voice. He really miss that voice.

"Mom?"

"Gilbert! Me and your dad tried to call you several times, your call always busy. What's wrong?"

Billy send a text to his PDA that says he told them that their son has gone on vacation to other country.

"Sorry mom, we're taking a vacation to... Japan. I have to change my numbers for a while since it doesn't work here. Billy has told you about this, right?"

"We'll appreciate it if you tell us sooner. I mean, we can help-"

"He doesn't need help darling. He's a man, he should be able to do everything by his own," his dad starts to talk too. "Enjoying your holiday, son?"

"Yes dad. It's really refreshing."

"Good for you. Don't forget that you still have your college, come home as soon as you can."

"Gilbert, who is tha-" Cocona talks before Croix holds her down.

"Cocona, don't disturb him, he's talking now!"

"Hm? I hear a little girl's voice," Gilbert's dad notices the voice.

"Uh... My friend's little sister. Really energetic girl."

"Heh, reminds me of my old school trip... I don't recognize her language though."

"It's Japanese dad, did you really expect me to speak English while in Japan?"

"Don't mind your silly father," her mother talks again. "You're eating well, right? How about money? You're not fooling around with the girls-"

"Hey, stop it, we're checking his condition, not interrogate him," his father stops her wife's questions. "Well, we're going to end the call soon, otherwise we'll receive a massive telephone bill for the international call, hehehe... Anything that you want to say?"

"Hum..." Gilbert looks at Laura. Should he introduce her to his parents? She's serious about getting along with him to his world. He doesn't want to surprise his parents by silently bringing a girl from other 'country' home. "Well, there is one... Promise that you won't get angry, okay?"

"It depends. Did you got into trouble or what?"

"I... I have a girlfriend here..." He slowly says it. There's a silence for a while.

"Hihi...HAHAHAHA!" Gilbert's father laughs hard. "I thought for a moment that you got into some crime organization or something like that! You don't have to nervously tell us about it! Well, who's the lucky girl? Is she with you right now?"

"Her name's Laura. Yes, she's with me now," Gilbert hands the PDA to her.

"Huh?"

"Sorry, that's my parents on the line. Please say 'hello' to them."

"'Harrou?'" She slowly says to the PDA.

"...Yeah, that'll do." Gilbert rolls his eye. His father tries to communicate with the girl.

"Hello? Can you speak Engli- uh, never mind. Gilbert, you still there?"

Gilbert takes the PDA back and speaks again.

"Sorry dad, she can't speak English... For now. I'll teach her the language, hopefully she'll be fluent using it when we're going back to state."

"Yeah, that's goo- Wait, 'we'?"

"...She insists to come with me to the state. Mom, dad, listen... Both of his parents recently died in an accident, and her extended family disown she and her parents for reasons that I don't know, so they refuse to take care of her. I have to help her, I can't let her alone!" he lies to both of his parents. He hates to make excuses, but they won't believe him if he tells them the truth.

"Gilbert..."

"Please!" He pleas. Both of his parents look at each other, before his father starts to talk.

"Son... If you think this is the right thing to do, then we can't stop you. Although I never heard a Japanese called 'Laura'..."

"That's not her real name dad, I'm calling her with that name because her real name is hard to pronounce," Gilbert quickly throws another excuses. "Anyway, about the phone bill-"

"Oh, right! Don't forget to buy some souvenirs for us when you get back! Hey honey, I'll close the call now, do you want to say goodbye to him?" He passes the phone to her wife.

"Have fun at there Gilbert... We love you."

"I love you both too mom, dad..."

*Click!*

He looks at the PDA, makes sure that the call really ends. Tears starts to fall from his eye. Laura hugs from behind to comfort him.

"Gilbert... Did something bad happened?"

"Nothing bad, but... I don't know... I'm glad I've heard my parents voice again, but... I never missed them this much... I'm afraid that's the last time I'll ever hear their voice... "

"Sssttt, don't say that... You'll meet them again eventually. We'll help you back to your home, right guys?" She turns to the crowd behind her.

"Yeah Gilbert, don't be silly!" Cocona glares to him. "I mean, you can always call them if you like, right?"

I can't... Billy, please explain the situation to them," he gives his PDA to Cocona.

"Uh... Well... Hans?"

00000

"... So the higher-ups decided to close all connections between two worlds until indefinite amount of time, probably forever if we can't replicate the teleport device," Hans explains.

"What!? You can't just abandon him-" Laura protests.

"Listen, as much as they want to return him to our world, risking the safety of millions of people to save one person is..."

Laura can't deny that. She's angry because he wants to sacrifice and abandon her beloved one, but he's right...

"Is there any way that we can do to help with the teleporter?" Croix asks.

"Well..." Hans starts to talk. "If only someone know how the teleporters in your world works..."

Croix stares to Jacqli. Maybe she knows-

"What?"

"Jacqli, do you-"

"No, I don't know how it works. Ask the tower administrator, she should be more knowledgeable than the rest of us combined," Jacqli suggests.

"You're right. We'll go to Grand Bell Palace anyway," Croix taps Gilbert's shoulder. "Hey, you're okay?"

"Yeah... Sorry," he wipes the tears from his own face.

"Remember Gilbert, you're not alone in this world. We will help you with your problems, just like how you helped us," Luca tries to cheer him too.

"... I agree. You've done much to help us, even if you're from a world that we don't know. We have to repay the favor by helping you too," Lady Cloche also tries to cheer him. "Although, I'll appreciate it if you and Laura not showing your affection in public..."

Laura immediately breaks her hug, and her face along with Gilbert's turns red.

"Awww... I think that's fine, he needs that hug!" Amarie pats Laura's back. Croix gives a hand to Gilbert so he can stand up.

"Thanks. I don't know how to repay-"

"Don't mind it. We're friends after all," he turns to Ms. Reisha. "We're going now, please take care of yourself."

"Mom, don't do anything stupid again, okay? No matter what happened to us, we'll be fine," Luca slowly says, then hugs her, followed by Lady Cloche. They seem... closer now. After a while they let go her and walks out from the house, followed by the whole party. Cocona runs and yells their next destination.

"Next stop, Grand Bell Palace!"

******END OF CHAPTER 36**


	37. Chapter 37

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 37 = Interview

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**10:00 Grand Bell Palace**

The party boards down from the airship, and they gather at the throne room.

"Tell the guards to leave," Shun says.

"Guards, please leave us for a while and do not let anyone come inside," Lady Cloche commands, and the soldiers and reyvateils leave the room.

"Shun, is this really that necessary to tell everyone to leave?" Gilbert ask.

"Yes. If anyone hear this plan they'll freak out," he starts to explain. "As I said before, this world is the product of Frelia's song magic. Of course, the tower we're trying to make reappear is also Frelia's Song Magic, but she doesn't have enough energy for it."

"Okayyy...But I don't really get it..." Cocona doesn't get his idea.

"I'll just say it then. If we drop about half of the Rim, there'll be enough energy for the tower." Shun directly tells them, which mortify the whole party. "The energy used to maintain the Rim is about twice that needed for the tower. But we can't just drop the Rim. You'll get even more backlash than now."

"I remember the people's reaction to Targana after hibernation... Not a pretty sight," Gilbert recalls the past.

"That's true..." Croix adds.

"Just secretly drop it. If the tower appears, all will be forgiven," Amarie suggest.

"I can't do such a dishonest thing!"

"And no matter how we explain it, it'll look like we're trying to end the world..." Both of the maidens reject the idea. No one in the party have no idea what to do, until Lady Cloche speaks again.

"I'm going to talk to the people."

"Are you serious!?" Leglius protest.

"It'll be alright... If I tell them with sincerity, they'll understand."

"That might be true, but in our current situation, the people don't trust the Grand Bell at all. You should keep in mind that we do have quite a lot to make up for."

"I do remember it, that's why I should talk to them myself. I have to gain people's trust back, or we can't create Metafalica." Lady Cloche call the guards back. "Targana!"

A blonde man comes into the room.

"Yes, my Lady?"

"Arrange a public announcement for tomorrow."

"...May I ask what announcement you shall make?"

"You will hear it tomorrow. This is important, make sure everyone will hear it."

Targana looks to his childhood friend, indirectly ask what she wants to announce about, but Croix stay silent and only raises his shoulder.

"As you wish," he walks away. Lady Cloche then looks to Gilbert.

"How much time until they cut the connection?"

"Hans?"

"About twelve hours left," he informs both Gilbert and the rest of the party. "Could we ask her now?"

"If only Frelia is ready," Shun walks to Frelia's bedroom. Gilbert prays that she is ready, otherwise, he'll be stuck in this world forever...

000000

**10:20**

Gilbert enters the room after Shun sure she wants to be questioned. The rest of the party observes from behind. Hans explains the situation to her.

"...So please, share the knowledge to us, otherwise our friend won't be able to go back to our world."

"I'm sorry, I want to help, but I'm not sure if my information was enough..." Frelia shakes her head. "Where are you come from?"

"Earth."

"'Earth?'"

"It's the name of our planet."

"You come from other planet? But there's sea of plasma-"

00000

12:20

Two hours of questions and answers... Most of the questions come from Frelia, whose looks interested in this new world thing.

"...We are able to turn sounds into electronic signals for many purposes, but the idea of turning sounds itself into a power source is... unlikely, as the energy available from sounds itself are miniscule."

"As expected from a civilization that its technology are dated _way_ before the first era," Jacqli smirks. "Have you analyze the machine itself?"

"We have, but we can't really comprehend how it works. All our attempts to replicate it results in failure."

"Could you show us the machine itself?" Frelia asks. Hans nods and turns the camera, showing the insides.

"I never see such design before..."

00000

******14.20**

Another two hours past. Hans keeps asking questions, milking every information that he could get from Frelia.

"Hey, uh... Can I leave now Cro? I don't understand what they are talking about..." Cocona stands up from the corner of the room.

"I think she's right..." Gilbert supports her statement. "Do you mind if we leave for now?"

"Fine by me. Shun, you don't mind to tell him when we're done?"

"I don't mind, but don't make yourself hard to find by wandering to somewhere else." He agrees. The party then walks out from the room, but Gilbert stops before his feet even touch the hall floor.

"Billy, could you send my computer in my room to here? I don't care if I couldn't get the power for it, just... send it in, okay?"

Billy nods and walks out from the room.

"He says yes. We'll inform you when we're done," Hans then talks to Frelia again. "Now, you said that all things on the planet exist because this 'Dynamic D-Waves' from the planet. What about things from other planet that come into this planet?"

"They will keep exist from the love of-"

00000

Gilbert massages his own forehead. What are they talking about? Are they even talking about the teleportation device anymore?

"Where's Jacqli and Shun?" Gilbert notices that there's one person missing from the party.

"They're still in my room," Cloche sighs. "I'm sorry that we can't help much..."

"You guys already helped me by allowing my friends to gather information from Lady Frelia. "Now it depends on my friends. If they can't replicate the device after all our effort... Well... To be honest, I don't think they can do it with their current technology..."

"Then please live with us as a citizen of Pastalia. Although this is not your homeworld, please accept the land as your new home."

"I appreciate your offer, but..." Gilbert shakes his head, and tries to change the topic. "Speaking of which, we're going to dro-"

Croix puts a finger on his mouth, signaling him to stay quiet.

"...I mean about the land that we'll... excavate. Some of them are populated, right? How about those people?"

"...While you do have a point, we can't discuss it here. Let's go back to the throne room."

00000

"...We need to make the sacrifice too Luca, just like how we expect people to sacrifice their land."

"I understand, but I don't know what to say to Mom..."

"I'll be with you; We'll tell her together," she pats her sister. "Let's get some rest, we have nothing left to discuss for now."

00000

******15:30 Croix House**

"Hey, Gilbert..." Croix calls him once he enters his house.

"Yes?"

"Do you really have to store those box?" He points to a mountain of boxes filled with parts from the machine which healed Gilbert back when Raki slashed his eye.

"Uh, that machine is expensive, I'm sure that they want me to store those until I could teleport those back to them... Maybe we can move those to somewhere else if we need more room, but where?"

"There's a lot of room in the palace, but we'll get exhausted if have to move all those boxes without any tools..." Lady Cloche says.

"Uhm... How about my house? It's a bit far from here, but its closer than the palace." Laura suggests.

"If you don't mind, then I think we can agree with that."

"Uh Cro, if we can use Laura's house, why don't we stay there and leave those boxes in our house?" Cocona asks.

"Shun will have a hard time to find us if we stay there. Lady Cloche, please stay here just in case if Shun comes when we moved these," Croix picks up one of the boxes. "Let's get started."

00000

*Creak!*

Laura unlocks the door to her house and let the heavy lifters in. The interior quite extravagant compared to Croix's or Luca's house.

"You can put it there," Laura points to a storage room. "If its full, put the rest at the living room. No one's at home since I'm going out anyway."

Slowly, the party fills the storage room with stack of boxes.

"15 more boxes to go," Gilbert stretches his muscle. Cocona groans and walks out to pick up the rest. Gilbert stops when something catches his attention. He grabs a photo frame: He can see Laura, with both of her parents behind her. They all smiled...

*Bzztt!*

Somehow... He remembers his first human kill... A photo... A reyvateil and her boyfriend...

*Tap!*

"Gilbert?"

Laura's voice snaps him back from his mind.

"Laura... They are your parents, aren't they?" Gilbert gives the photo to her.

"...Yes," she opens the frame and takes the photo. She looks sad... "Go ahead Gilbert, I'll... tidying up some rooms."

He nods and walks out from the house. Maybe she needs some time alone...

00000

After some hauling, they finally managed to move all the boxes to Laura's house.

"That's the last box," Croix puts the last box on the ground. "Let's head back."

"Wait, where's Laura?" Cocona notices someone's missing.

"She said she wants to tidying up some rooms. You guys go ahead, I'll check her," tells Gilbert. Croix and the others heads out from Laura's house.

"Don't do anything 'strange' to her, okay?" Amarie jokes and runs out. Gilbert chuckles and opens each room. He finds her in the main bedroom. She's sitting on the bed, looking at a photo album.

"Laura?"

"Wha-wha-wha!?" His sounds startles her. "Oh... sorry, I didn't noticed when you come in. Have you moved all the boxes?"

"Yes. Thanks for letting us using your house, carrying those to the palace will worn us out," Gilbert peeks at the album. "What's that?"

"I found my parents photo album in one of the cupboard."

Gilbert looks to each photo. All of them are pictures when Laura's parents were young.

"Do you miss your parents?"

"... I would be lying if I say no," she slowly put her left hand over him. "Do you have a plan where to stay after the situation is stable? I mean, we have to wait until your friends able to finish the teleporter, right?"

"Honestly, I don't know... Maybe I'll ask Croix to lend a room for me."

"If you want, you can live here... I'll ask Lady Cloche to give you a plate." Laura presses his right hand.

"Live here? You mean, inside your house?"

"Yep."

"Don't you worry about what people will thought about us if we living together?"

"Why? We're lovers, I don't think anyone will think ill about us if we live together..." She slowly hugs him. "Besides, don't you think you'll create more misunderstanding if you stay with Croix? You know, like what Jacqli said earlier in Etna..."

"Okay, okay...You do have a point there. " He sighs. "You mentioned something about 'plate.' What's that?"

"Plate? Oh, I mean this," Laura takes out her necklace and shows him. It's more look like a dog-tag that soldiers back in earth has, albeit bigger, like a credit card. "You need this if you want to live in Pastalia, and they have to be renewed at least once a month-."

"GILBEEERRTT! LAURAAAAA!" A girl calls them from the outside. They both walks out and finds both Luca and Cocona outside. "Shun called you to the palace!"

'Finally. I hope Billy have some good news...'

END OF CHAPTER 37


	38. Chapter 38

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 38 = Last Delivery

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**21:00 Grand Bell Palace**

Gilbert walks to Frelia's room, heeding Shun's call. He's accompanied by the rest of the party except Jacqli, whose probably still inside the room that he's headed right now.

"Uh...Why did you all come with me? Shouldn't you guys get some rest now? Especially you Lady Cloche. No offense, but don't you have a speech to prepare?"

"I appreciate your concern, but tomorrow's speech is not something that I can prepare. In fact, going with you will reduce my anxiety better than thinking what words to say for tomorrow. Do you understand?"

"... If you say so," Gilbert opens the door and finds Frelia still telling them some information that no one can understand. Except maybe Hans, if he doesn't understand it, well...

"How about the people in your land? Have they-" The goddess stops talking when she sees Gilbert. "Here he is."

"Shun told me to come here. You've got all the information that you need?"

"...Actually, we're calling you here to send you the last supplies and equipments from us," Hans says. "Stand back."

They stay clear from the center of the room, and a laptop materialized.

"What's that?"

"That's your computer that you're previously requested...Or at least the data in it. We've moved all the data from the hard disk inside your computer to Billy's laptop, and we attach a solar panel on the top of it, so you don't have to worry about the power source."

"Wait, that's Billy's-"

"Yes, that's mine," The person in question responds from Hans laptop. "Consider it as a loan, okay? You have to keep it in good condition and return it when you get back to our world, okay?"

"Billy, you do realize that I probably won't coming back shortly-"

"You _will_ come back and give that damn thing back to me one day, with your own hands. Get it?"

"...Thanks man."

Second item materialized into the room. An... armor or something.

"Introducing, M-2 Exoskeleton. Or as those goons at marine corps called, a 'suit.' It enhance your strength, mobility-"

"Wait, you have managed to create a powered armor!?"

"More like a 'powered suit', because that things is not really that armored. We have tested the earlier versions of the suits for many things, like for loading and unloading heavy stuff, helping disabled patients at hospitals... Problem is, we have to tether it to a power source, and our efforts to put a portable power supply into it doesn't meet satisfying result, since it won't last more than an hour... Until now, thanks to data that we're able to colle-"

Gilbert tries to wear the suit, but he can't even lift it.

"Oi, how heavy is this suit?"

"About 100 kilos, but once you're wearing it, you won't even feel the weight," Hans looks to Gilbert and Cocona, whose only managed to drag that suit. "Put that down, I'll tell you how to wear it. Seach a panel on the back of the body."

Gilbert feels up the back of the armor, and finds a small panel with numbers. Behind him materialize another item: a book.

"That's the manual for the suit, but to make things quick, type the code on the last page of that book."

He quickly opens it and types the number. Immediately, the suit detaches itself into six parts: legs, body, arms, and helmet. Now the weight is more manageable and Gilbert wears each parts until they all fit to his body, then it locks itself, shielding Gilbert inside. All the interface starts powering up.

"How do you feel Gilbert?" Laura asks. Gilbert moves his hands a bit.

"Nothing unusual... Oh, it's kind hot in here."

"Deal with it for now, I'll note that to the designers. Could be problematic if one has to wear it in hot region..." Hans write something on his notebook near him "Now, try to stand up."

Gilbert slowly moves his body and stands up. He moves his arms and his legs.

"You're right, I can't feel the suit's weight once it powers up. I don't feel powerful or something like to that effect..."

"Lift your weapons, and you'll notice the effect."

Gilbert takes all his weapons. Strangely, he doesn't feel the weight much unlike how he used to lift those without the suit.

"The helmet basically mirrored the features that your mechanical eye has, so you don't have to worry about your eye powers can't work while in that suit."

"Wait, isn't this suit a bit... Overkill for me? Since I keep myself mostly hidden when in battle and strike only when needed... Maybe Croix will use this suit more than me."

"Well... Croix, do you know how to speak 'English?'

"'Enggrish?' I don't know..." He looks puzzled.

"...Nope, only you can use it Gilbert. If we have enough time, maybe we can reprogram that suit, problem is..." Hans sighs. "Enough with the demonstration, more details can be found inside that manual. And finally..."

Laura takes the manual book and look inside: many words that she can't understand are written in the book.

'Maybe Gilbert can use this to teach me his language...'

Another laptop materialized into the room, but it has a different look than Billy's.

"Lady Frelia, this is a gift from our world. You have gifted us with lots of knowledge that we don't know, and here we value those knowledge really high. We don't know how to repay your kindness... So we send a device that contains almost ALL knowledge from this world that we know, since you showed a lot of interest in our world. We wish to learn more, but as you know..."

"Uhm... Thanks, but I don't know how to operate it..."

"Gilbert, would you help?"

The person takes the laptop and put it on the bed and push the power button. It was programmed with the language that she can understand.

"If you need any help with the device, consult with the helper program inside the device. We're sorry, we know that it can't fully satisfy your interest of our world, but..."

"This is enough, thank you," she smiles. Gilbert take his PDA from the end of the bed.

"I'll brief some news for you, and I'll be honest: not a really good one," Hans starts explaining.

"Please keep it simple, and in a language that I can understand."

"Don't worry. First, Lady Frelia doesn't know this teleportation device tech; maybe it's from different civilization, maybe its from an era before she was created... However, she shared her knowledge how _her_ teleportation device works, so while we can't duplicate this teleportation device, we could create the Frelia's one."

"Sounds good. How long until you can create one?"

"That's the problem... Her devices, is a song magic, which is a wave science product, that might or might not work back at this world, since the rules of science in that world may be different from the rules of science in our world, this is evident by the lack of-

"Keep. It. Simple."

"...Basically, although we know how Lady Frelia's teleportation device works, our capability to recreate one is... questionable at best. If our interpretation is correct, their technology has reached where one can actually changes the physical structure of individual atoms-" He stops when notices that Gilbert stares through his PDA. "In short, we don't know how long you have to wait until we can create a teleporter. Maybe it would take months at best, or years, or generations..."

Gilbert lays his back on the wall, as if all his strength drained.

"Is there anything more that we can do to help?" Croix asks.

"Unfortunately, nothing. If only the effect of this...'hibernation' didn't reach our world, there won't be any preventive measure from the higher ups, and we can gather more about how technology in this world works..."

"Can I talk directly to your authority? I assure you, there won't be another harmful hymn from us. The worst that can happen now is... the fall of our land, which shouldn't be affecting your world, and therefore, you don't have to cut the connection," Lady Cloche tries to bargain with him.

"Sorry, but they can't ignore the fact that your world almost claimed our... 'souls,'" Hans shakes his head.

"Hey, Gilbert, technology marches on, they already know how to make the teleporter, now its only a matter of time until they make another one!" Billy yells at his friend.

"He's right," Josh also speaks. "I'm not someone who follows every new technology, but we have to admit that our technology grows fast. Remember many years ago, when the idea of personal communicator is only available in science fiction? Now, almost everyone on the earth has a mobile phone."

"I... Well, they have said what I want to say," Karen also talks to him.

"I know. You guys don't have to say it to me," Gilbert takes a deep breath. "So... This is a goodbye?"

"Ten minutes left. Yeah, this is a goodbye," Hans looks to the clock. "You want to open the channel until-"

"Close it now, I don't want to make it hard for us," Gilbert decides before Hans finishes his sentences.

"Fine," his hands moves, commanding some scientist behind him. "Don't lose hope Gilbert, we'll work as fast as we can."

"You hear that Gilbert? Don't lose ho-"

*Click!*

*CONNECTION LOST*

Silence fills the room for a few second, before Gilbert stands up and bows to Frelia.

"Thank you Lady Frelia for sparing some of your time."

"You don't have to bow, we're only helping with each other" she looks through his helmet, to his eyes. "It's better than staying here all day doing nothing."

"Well, let's head back, we need to get some rest for tomorrow," Gilbert and the others walks out from the room.

00000

*INCOMING SECURE MESSAGE, DECRYPTING...*

"Huh?"

The helmet interface flashing a message.

'LOOK UP'

He moves his eyes to the dark sky. The helmet responds again: it marks a tiny dot in the sky, and zooms it. The helmet shows a three dimensional schematic, detailing on the blurry object in the sky.

"Is that... A satellite?"

******END OF CHAPTER 38**


	39. Chapter 39

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 39 = Last Delivery

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**22:20 Outside of Grand Bell Palace**

'WE WILL RE-OPEN THE CHANNEL IN ONE MONTH. BY THAT TIME, YOUR OBJECTIVE IS TO SURVIVE AND STOP WHATEVER HARMFUL EVENTS THAT'LL BE HAPPENED ON THE LAND. WE ARE GIVING OUR COMBAT SATELLITE IN ADDITION TO YOUR SUIT.'

The message flash again whilst the schematic details itself.

'ARMENTS OF R-01:

20 FOOT TUNGSTEN : 10

MIRV NUCLEAR MISSILE: 1'

Gilbert's heart immediately stops when he sees the last weapon. A nuclear missile!?

'WE HAVE INSTALLED A SENSOR INTO YOUR EYE: SHOULD YOU PERISHED BEFORE THE ONE MONTH LIMIT, WE WILL ASSUME THAT ANOTHER CATASTROPHIC EVENT HAS TAKEN IN PLACE, AND WE WILL LAUNCH A MISSILE TO BOMBARD THE LAND IN ORDER TO... STERILIZE THE THREAT, SO THE SAME EVENT WON'T AFFECT OUR WORLD WHEN WE RE-OPEN THE CONNECTION."

'What the hell!? They'll destroy the land with it!'

'WE WILL GRANT YOU THE ABILITY TO LAUNCH A KINETIC BOMBARDMENT ON YOUR ADVERSARIES, AFTER THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED TIME LIMIT, WE WILL GRANT YOU FULL ACCESS TO THE SATELLITE EXCEPT THE MISSILE IN CASE IF WE CAN'T RESTORE THE CONNECTION BACK, THEREFORE, YOU CAN DISPOSE THE SATELLITE AND THE MISSILE TO THE OUTER SPACE SHOULD YOU WISH IT. YOU CAN FIND IT INSIDE YOUR SUIT MANUAL, PAGE 10, UNDER 'QUICK REFERENCE' SECTION.'

'One month... At least they are kind enough to give me some help... But who sent this message? They can send a message to my suit, they must be-'

"GIIILLLBEEEERRTTTTT!" Cocona yells very loud to his helmet and hits his back.

"Huh?"

"Oh, great, I thought you got locked up in that suit!" She stares. "What's wrong?"

"Uh...Well..."

Gilbert thought that he better keep this in missile in secret, if he tells them that the missile will bombard their land when he dies, they won't let him helping them.

'WE WISH YOU LUCK, GILBERT CARALIE.'

*MESSAGE ENDS*

The helmet flashes the last line from the sender. Gilbert sighs and starts to open his helmet, but it won't budge. He doesn't use full strength, afraid that it'll broke the helmet.

"Grhhh... This suit... It won't let me to release the helmet."

"Do it later Gilbert. Let's head back first," Croix walks again.

00000

**22:40 Croix's House**

The party sits on the recently cleared living room.

"I'm really sorry Gilbert, if I didn't go with Targana-"

"Please don't apologize Luca. It's already happened, we can't do anything about it. At least we stop the hymn before it do much harm. Now the only thing that bugs me is this helmet..."

"Uh... You have to put code on the back of the suit to release it, right? Amarie asks.

"Yes, but it release ALL the suit back to pieces. I just want to remove the helmet. And there should be some other way to release this suit without having someone to put a code on the back of it, it's too troublesome."

"Well, your friends give you the manual for a reason." Jacqli stares.

"Oh right. Anyone see it?"

"Here," Laura hands him the book. Gilbert opens and looks each page of the book.

"Come on, where is it..." He keeps flipping the page until he finds the.

'Command:Detach (Part Name) : Detach a part of the suit. Used when one part of the suit is malfunctioning. Note: Use 'Shutdown' command instead if you want to take the suit off. Note 2: The suit is able to and receive limited commands without the helmet, as most of the suit's functionality comes from the body part. For this reason too the body part is crucial and can't be detached.

Related command: Attach, Shutdown'

Gilbert immediately tries the new command.

"Command, detach, helmet,"

*Tak!*

The helmet powers itself down and finally Gilbert is able to take it off.

"Much better."

"You're not going to sleep with that suit on, are you?" Croix stares through his glasses.

"Of course not, I'm just testing it." She looks to Jacqli. "Anyway, you are with Lady Frelia all the time when my friends and her are exchanging information, right? Did you understand what they're talked about?"

"Can you tell?" She smirks. "Anyone could understand if one's willing to learn."

"I don't think we have the time though..." Croix sighs. "Let's get some rest, it's already late at night."

The girls walk upstairs to sleep, while Croix, Leglius, and Gilbert stays to sleep on the living room.

"Command, shutdown."

*Tak!Tak!Tak!Tak!*

The rest of the suit breaks apart and Gilbert put away each part of it away, and he lays on the rug.

'I miss my old bed...'

00000

"Ugh..."

Lady Cloche wakes up in the middle of the night, full of sweats. Deep down, she's afraid that people will reject her again, like on Rakshek... She clears those negative thoughts away. If she can't trust the people, people won't trust her. Just before she decides to lay back on the bed, she notices Laura is standing near the window, looking outside. Lady Cloche carefully gets up from the bed so she won't wake her sister whose sleeping on her side.

"Laura?"

"Eeep!" The I.P.D jumps a bit. "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No you didn't. How about you? Why are you doing in this night?"

"Uhm, actually, its early morning now, I used to wake on this time to do my daily chores."

"I see. Anyway... I want to ask something about earlier events."

"Huh? What is it?"

"What were you did back in Etna Inn so Luca screamed really loud?" She asks. Laura's face immediately turns red.

"Uhm... Uh..."

"You don't want to answer it?"

"I... Uh..."

00000

"He did WHAT!?"

Lady Cloche's scream awakens every girls in the room, except Cocona, whose still peacefully sleeping on her bed.

"Urgh... What is it..." Luca asks, still half asleep. Laura's blush reddens, like she's panicking.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to-" Lady Cloche tries to apologize, but Laura quickly runs down in shame.

"Lady Cloche, what did you do to her?"

00000

Luca manages to bring Laura back from outside and convince the gentleman that nothing wrong is happened.

"Laura, I admit I was overreacting earlier... I'm really sorry about that," Lady Cloche apologizes again. "But don't you think it's too... early to do...it?"

"Uh... Mom gave birth to me when she was around our age..." Luca tries to defend Laura.

"No, it's... It's not about age! I mean, you both have to be committed first before doing it!"

"Well, to be honest... I want us to do it later when we're ready, but..." Laura keeps her best to not faint. "I... I'm afraid he'll get mad if I refuse, he's depressed at that time..."

All other girls stares to her. Lady Cloche shakes her head.

"Laura, you have to be strong! If you don't want to do it, tell him!"

"We're only knows him for a few months, but I think he'll be understand if you refuse," Amarie also says.

"Although since you already did it..." Luca looks down. "May I ask how it feels like-"

*Buk!*

"Good morning! Huh, everyone's already awake..." Cocona gets up from her bed, feeling really refreshed. "Did something happened?"

"This is an adult talk that no children should hear," Jacqli teases her. Cocona gives a big 'Hmph!' and runs down. "I think we should get ready now."

The girls walk down to take a bath. Luca whisper to Laura before going down.

"One question... Did you use protection?"

Laura stops on her track, then shakes her head, then walks down again.

00000

**08:50 Grand Bell Palace**

Lady Cloche walks to the Speech Plaza. Everyone in the party are giving their words personally to support her. Gilbert and Laura stands just before the gate to plaza's balcony.

"Lady Cloche...What you'll done today is certainly hard." Gilbert starts talking. "Back in my world, many leaders on the history run away when their countries are falling apart. They afraid of their own people. Very few of them are trying to gain people's trust back, and even fewer of those who tried are succeed. I hope you'll make yourself become one of those very few people."

"Thank you. Even though this is not your world, you did your best to help us. We won't forget this."

"The same could be said to Jacqli as well," he smiles. "Don't you have something to say to Lady Cloche too, Laura?"

"Uhm..." The person slowly talks. "I'll support you no matter what will happened next. If you and Luca didn't cure me, I can't meet Gilbert. You give everyone a second chance. I'm sure everyone whose you help feels the same like me. Please remember that if things gone bad out there."

"Thanks," She smiles and walks again, but turns back to Laura before her feet touch the Plaza balcony. "Oh, and... Remember my advice this morning, okay?"

She blushes and slowly nods, and Lady Cloche finally goes to the Speech Plaza.

"What advice?" Gilbert looks to his girlfriend.

"Sstt, she's starting her speech now!"

******END OF CHAPTER 39**


	40. Chapter 40

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 40 = Speech

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**09:00 Grand Bell Palace**

The rest of the party hears Lady Cloche's speech from behind. As expected, the initial reaction from the mass is... Not good at all. They can hear people's anger even from the Palace.

"Please Lady Cloche, stay strong..."

She keeps carrying her speech, despite what the people yelling to her. And they demands her to... Sing? Lady Cloche keeps quiet as they shout their order to her louder. She finally opens her mouth and starts to sing...

"Gilbert, look there!"

Laura points to the Infel Pira up in the sky. Its glowing... It then restructure itself into... something else. The crowds got amazed with it. What just happened? Laura's face looks like she's bewitched by the song. Lady Cloche continues her speech, how she wrongdoing, how she suffer, and how even by all that, she won't give up to save the people, because she believes with her goals.

Slowly, the crowd's yells turn to cheers. Gilbert could see her tears of joy even from behind. She then declares that she'll go to the land of the gods, then thanks the people whose listening, and ends her speech.

00000

"Lady Cloche, that was a GREAT speech!" Amarie immediately praises her once she walks back into the palace. "It gave me goosebumps!"

"You did well, good job," Leglius adds.

"Thanks..." She slowly walks, but then...

*Bruk!*

"Lady Cloche!" Luca gasps when she sees her sister drops to the ground. Croix immediately carry her body back to her room.

00000

"Is she okay?" Laura asks when both Croix and Luca walks out from the room.

"Doctor said she's stressed out and need to rest."

"Understandable, since she has to carry out the speech in front of masses whose hated the government..." Gilbert sighs. "So, what should we do no-"

*Kriek!*

The door opens, revealing Lady Cloche's sick face.

"Croix, tell Targana to call every leader of each rim block to come here," she immediately commands.

"Lady Cloche, you have to rest first-"

"I can rest while waiting for them. Please, we don't have much time," She pleas. Croix nods, and Luca helps her sister walking back to her bedroom. Gilbert sighs, again.

"Any idea what should we do after we discussed the matter with the leaders?"

"We need to get the Hymn Crystal Veena to create the tower. I'll tell the details later."

"Should we restock our supplies before we go?"

"I think we still have a lot of potions and other stuff..." Amarie looks to him. "What's wrong? You usually aren't this cautious."

"Eh? Just to make sure that nothing will go wrong," He turns his head to Frelia, currently on in the room since it's being used by Cloche now. "Anyway, did you have problems when operating the device from our world, Lady Frelia?"

"No, your friends make it easy to operate," she shows her usual smile. "Your world's history is interesting."

"Thanks, I guess? Do not ask me if I know those events personally though, I'm not that good in history..." He rubs his own head.

"I won't. Although I'm really curious about your what wave your world composed of. It looks similar..."

"Now you mention it... Our healing song magic works on him. His life energy should be different from anyone in this world," Jacqli also gives her thought.

"I don't understand. Is that supposed to be good or bad?" He rubs his own head.

"Is it bad if you can't get healed by song magic?"

"... Point taken," Gilbert rolls his eyes. Croix and Luca joins back to the crowd. "Any news?"

"The leaders of each block will gather here in a moment. Is Lady Cloche okay, Luca?" Croix asks.

"She said she'll only need to lay for a while. I told her to leave the discussions to me, but she insisted..." Luca shakes her head.

"Croix, Shun said that after the discussion we'll go grab a... What is it?"

"Hymn Crystal Veena. We need it to create the tower. Veena was hidden by Raki, but luckily, I know where it is."

"Where?"

"In the Gryo Stabilizer. Far beneath Pastalia, down in the Sea of Death. There are places filled with poison from the clouds, but we have no other choice but to should be able to use an elevator called Lift 0 to get down there, but my memory's missing the last 400 years, so I don't know where it is now. I just know that Lift 0 connected the Gyro with Pastalia. So first, we have to find Lift 0."

"Where do we start? Pastalia is a pretty big place..."

"We can start from the slums. It's on the lowest level of Pastalia, and most of the area are still unknown to us, so the lift might be somewhere on that place," Croix answer Gilbert's question.

"Great. My eye should be able to speed up the search," he wears his helmet. "Should we welcome the leaders once they arrive on the airport?"

"No. Croix, stay inside the throne room and guard both of the maidens, while I and Gilbert guard the main door to the throne room. The rest standby near the hall. Any objection?" Leglius orders. Frelia whispers something to the robot dog.

"Frelia should be with them when the discussion starts. I'll guard her along with the maidens," Shun suggests. The captain nods, then everyone goes to their assigned place.

00000

Gilbert stands still at the side of the door. The leaders of each block walk past him; He can feel some glances from them, but they keep moving forward into the throne room.

…

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

Fifteen minutes passed... He takes a glance to Leglius, whose stands at the other side of the door: He still keep his stance straight. He feels bored now.

'Pfftt... Now I know why no one likes guard duty... At least I can talk to someone when I travel with everyone, but it's different now. Talking while on guard doesn't sounds right at all...' He mutters in a low voice, still keeping his stance straight. He decides to overhear the discussion with his helmet.

'Command, activate, speech detector.'

"...With the surplus energy, we will create the tower to the heavens! "

"You plan to lessen the land by your own hands!?"

"Even now, as we continue to lose more and more land already..."

'As expected, it won't go well...' He sighs.

"...We will offer the Metaplate to the residents of Mint Block, and have you move to Pastalia."

"Wait a minute! That's not might as well drop Rakshek and let the Rakshek residents into Pastalia."

"Ahh, this isn't going to work. I'll excuse myself for today."

"Is permanent residency in Pastalia not enough!?"

"That's not the problem! We are in no way against Metafalica. If our sacrifice will lead to the creation of Metafalica then that's our wish, but even though we understand, it's not so easy to be rational..."

"Ah, please wai-"

*Bam!*

Someone opens the door and rushes out. All the discussion falls apart... Gilbert can only sighs and shakes his head. Soon, the others also walks out from the throne room, then Leglius gives a sign to Amarie whose stands near the hall. She delivers the messages to the rest of the party, and they along with Leglius and Gilbert enters the throne room.

"How could they just walk away...We know how hard it is too, but we have to..."

"It can't be helped. It's only natural, since we dropped this on them. Let's calm down and slowly get these conversations settled," Lady Cloche pats her sister on the back.

"Sorry, but we still have another job to do," Shun reminds them. They both nod and join with the rest of the party to the slums...

**END OF CHAPTER 40**


	41. Chapter 41

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 41 = Descending

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**12:00 The Slums**

The party uses a lift to descend to the old town area.

"Laura, you doesn't look good... What's wrong?" Cocona looks to her.

"No... I'm okay Cocona,"Laura fakes a smile. She remembers how her parents are using this lift, trying to hide her from the knights, but...

*Ting!*

The lift stops and the door opens, revealing ruins of building everywhere.

"Wow, I thought Etna's damage during the quake is bad enough... Any idea how the lift looks like?" Gilbert comments, then sets up his helmet for the search. 'Command, activate, terahertz imaging.'

"It shouldn't be any different from any other lift, only bigger," Shun tells him.

"We didn't come across it when we travel here... Maybe there are some areas that blocked by the ruins?" Amarie guesses.

"Makes sense. Let's look around for any blocked passage."

The party search every corner of the ruins to find a hidden path.

"Hey guys, come here, I think I find something!" Cocona calls. "I can feel wind comes from the other side of this fallen building. It must be blocking a path somewhere."

"Let me check it," Gilbert scans the area. "Uh... I can't find any lift around, but there's a clean path behind that. Maybe the lift is somewhere on that path."

"I wonder.. Can we move this rubble to get there?" Croix tries to push it, but it won't budge.

"Wait, I pick something-"

"Back off!" Jacqli yells. Gilbert turns around and finds that she's charging her song magic.

"Wait, there's-"

Croix pulls Gilbert from his position before Jacqli launches her song magic.

*Boom!*

The explosive song magic covers the air with dust. Two robots emerging from it.

"What!?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you!"

"It's the Divine Army!" Shun yells, and the party immediately get into their position.

'This is a good opportunity to test this suit,' Gilbert immediately raises his M107CQ and shots one of the robots.

*Fwip!*

The bullet flies out from the gun's barrel, and strikes the robot, before exploding inside it.

*Boom!*

One of the robots down. Gilbert can't even feel the kick from his weapon anymore, thanks to the suit giving him extraordinary strength. He instantly aim and shoot the other robot.

*Fwip!*

*Whoosh!*

The robot dodges the bullet and hovering fast to him.

'Dammit.'

Gilbert runs once he realizes the robot is targeting him now, but it hovers faster than him.

"Get down!"

He instantly throws his body to the ground as Leglius swings his disc-shield to the robot to gain its attention. It works, and the robot turns around to attack him, but before it could even move, a little girl whose wielding two machine guns shoots it, riddled it with bullets. The robot falls down and dies out from the barrage. Satisfied, she blow the smoke from the machine gun barrels before disappears.

"Phew..."

"Hey, Jacqli, you're mean! At least say something before you use Song Magic!" Cocona yells to her.

"Oh? Sorry. I thought we were in a hurry," she quickly makes an excuse.

"Finding the Divine Army the moment we broke in... We should be more careful from now on," Shun advices.

"Time to go into position, that was really close..." Gilbert walks to the side of the road.

"Hey, could you check if there's more enemy up ahead?" Croix asks. Gilbert scans the area again.

"Nope, nothing. I expect more at the end of this path though, should I yell if there's any enemy ahead?"

"Well, of course! If we know there's an enemy out there, tell us so we won't get caught unprepared!" Cocona answers.

"That's true, but doing so will reveal his position too, since he doesn't have any telecell or something like that..." Croix reconsiders the tactical option.

"Gil, you have this... PDA thing to communicate right? Can you connect it with Cro's telecell?"

"Different technology Cocona..." Gilbert shakes his head. "Maybe it can be modified, but this is my only communication to my world. Tampering this might be-"

He tries to reach his PDA, but it's stored in his clothes under the powered suit.

"Crap."

"What happened?" Laura asks.

"I can't reach it... Whatever, the point is still same," Gilbert looks to Croix. "So, what you want me to do?"

"Do the usual Gilbert, but if you can, take out the enemies before they can reach us."

"Understood," he nods and runs to the ruins. The others start walking on the new area of the slums...

00000

*Nguuung!*

Gilbert slowly peeks from the rubble, there are lots of robots coming out from a building similar to the lift that brings the party to this location. Gilbert scans it using his terahertz imaging, and indeed there's a bigger lift similar to the one which brought the party to this place.

'Heavily guarded building with enemies... Yep, that must be the correct lift.'

He aims one of the robots.

'Maybe I can take them one by one without them noticing...'

*Fwip!*

*Boom!*

One down, there's six more to go. The other robots gather around the downed robot. Gilbert slowly aims the farthest robot, so the others won't notice the shot.

*Fwip!*

*Boom!*

Two down. The robots realize where the shots comes from and quickly hovers to Gilbert's position.

"Dammit, it's hard to stay hidden without the others to distract the enemies..."

He runs away deeper in the ruins, but it's too late, the robots has his movements tracked. He quickly moves back to where the party's walking right now.

"Gilbert? What happe-"

"Get into position, we have LOTS of robots at there!"

They instantly readies themselves, and indeed there are robots whose coming to attack.

"Worse than even I expected," Shun comments, then shoots an energy ball from his mouth to one of the robots, which it dodged. Croix, Amarie, and Gilbert also keeps firing to the robots to surpress them, while Cocona and Leglius stays behind in case of surprise attack. It doesn't take a long time until clouds covering over the robots. Gilbert can see... something on the clouds. The clouds then darkens and produces thunderstorms that zaps and destroy every hostile robots under it.

"Where did they come from?"

"There's a lift at the end of this path, the robots are coming from the-"

*Ngguuung!*

Another wave of robots comes to the party.

"More!?"

"Damn, there's no end to this!" Leglius keeps his stance.

"Maybe we should back off once and..."

"We can't! If we run now, the divine army will overflow into old town!" Lady Cloche doesn't agree with Luca's idea to retreat.

"Grh... Here they come-"

*Wrrrshhh!*

A strong wind comes from behind, and sweeps the robots away.

"What...!?"

"Lady Luca! Are you okay!?" A girl's sound calls Luca's name from behind. Gilbert and Laura recognizes whose voice is that.

"Reiney!" Luca waves at the I.P.D whose running to the party. Behind her follows a lot of girls. It seems she doesn't realizes Laura or Gilbert.

"You remembered me! I'm so happy! I heard a huge explosion so I came. And then I saw you all fighting. What's going on here?

"We want to get to the entrance over there!" Luca points to the building where the lift resides.

"Alright! First we'll lure them away, then sneak past them and move forward!"

"All of you..."

"Lady Luca, Lady Cloche... Everyone, thank you very much for that time."

"You saved our lives."

"If Luca didn't treat Reine, she couldn't gather us, and all of old town might have been destroyed."

"And if Lady Cloche hadn't kept us a secret..."

The I.P.D's says their words to them both. Luca and Cloche really looks like a star here.

"But... I was just pushed over by Luca..."

"That's okay. If you wanted to report it after, you could have. But you didn't tell anyone about us. Even in the position as Holy Maiden, you protected us. That's what we're so happy about..." Reine gives their reason.

*Nguuung!*

Another wave of robots comes out from the building. The I.P.D immediately sings, forming a sphere of energy, which makes the robot recognizes them as a threat.

"Now, hurry!"

"Thank you everyone... I won't waste your efforts!" Both of the sisters quickly bows.

"Thank you. I trust you to support us," Croix also says his thanks.

"Yes sir!" Reine gives a salute to him. The party quickly runs into the building where the robots came out.

00000

"It's no mistake, this is Lift 0, the first long distance elevator made," Shun confirms that the lift in front of them is indeed the one that they searched.

"This...? It looks pretty clean for it being so old." Croix stares to the lift.

"It's probably being used often for transport of the Divine Army. At least its way better than it being old and not able to move."

"You're right about that..."

"The robots are coming from here... There might be more down there," Gilbert reports what he saw before the robots attack him.

"We should defeat every single one of them, or the reyvateils at the slums will be overwhelmed by them," Lady Cloche orders. Croix nods, then the party steps into the lift and descends further down to Gyro Stabilizer...

**END OF CHAPTER 41**


	42. Chapter 42

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 42 = The Factory

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**13:00 Lift 0  
**

"Sir Croix..." Luca giggles as the lift moves down to Gyro Stabilizer. "I never thought Reine will call you like that."

"What's wrong with it? I'm a knight after all,"

"Nothing wrong, but I find it a bit too... Formal. I mean, its something more fitting to Mr. Leglius..."

"You also called 'Lady' by her. Don't you find it different?"

"Uh, some of my customer insisted to call me that, so I kinda get used to it. Laura also use the 'Lady' prefix when we first met, until I told her to drop that. Maybe I'll ask the same thing when we meet with Reine again."

"Well, you saved our lives Luca, so it's natural that we're treating you with respect just like Lady Cloche..." Laura gives her reason.

"Anyway, how long is this lift anyway? Why using a lift anyway? Why one didn't build a teleportation device or something for long travel like this?" Gilbert anxiously wait at the corner of the lift.

"It takes a lot of power to use something like that. If I remember correctly, the lift was frequently used to transport something, so it's not power efficient if Frelia build a teleporter instead."

"Robots?"

"More than that."

*Clang!*

The lift stops and opens, revealing a group of robots in front of the party.

"Well, shit," he raises his M107CQ and immediately fires to them.

*Boom!*

Thanks to the element of surprise, he manages to shot down one of them, but there's still three of them.

"Close your eyes!" Croix yells as he throws a something to the robots.

*Flash!*

A blinding light fills the hall, stunning the robots. Gilbert uses the opportunity to shot another robot down.

*Boom!*

"I'll help!" Cocona charges her baton, and a big blade of energy emerges, she then kicks and cuts a robot in two.

*Slash!*

"Grh!" Croix activates the rocket inside the spear and flies very fast to the last robot, then he impales it to the nearest wall.

"Fuh..." Gilbert scans the area. "No more robots around... For now."

"Keep up your guard, this won't be the last time we'll fight them," Shun instructs. Gilbert scans the area.

"Hm..." Gilbert stops. "In front of us, there's a lot of crystal-like thing... There's a lift if we go to left or right," Gilbert points out. "Should we check the crystal room first?"

"Obviously," Croix nods. They moves forward and enters into a room, full of Hymn Crystal. Shun and Jacqli steps forward to check them.

"As I thought, these are the crystals to control the Divine Army," he explains.

"Interesting. So if we download these, we can use them as our puppets?" Jacqli asks.

"Depends on what you want to do. Each crystal is different, depending on the robot's model number."

"I see..." She takes one of them and examines it closer. "205428. Is this the model number? There isn't one where you can control them all, huh?"

"Of course not, they wouldn't make such a dangerous Song. Say a reyvateil that downloaded the song decides to rebel. The world would end."

"Hehehe, that's true. Since there was a world that was destroyed like that. I praise the people of Metafalss. Much smarter than those of my home," She smirks.

"Huh? What world?" Gilbert stares.

"It'll be too long to explain, we still have an objective to do, right?" Jacqli cuts the topic before they stray too far. Shun takes a quick glance on each crystal.

"Damn, the crystal we're looking for isn't here," he shakes his head. Gilbert sighs under his helmet and start scanning again.

"I see no other crystal here. We should check the lift then."

00000

"Wait," Gilbert scans the area after riding two lifts and destroying a bunch of robots on the way. "A crystal at the intersection, just after this path.

Hearing Gilbert's description the party increase their movement, and indeed they find it.

"It's the Hymn Crystal Veena," Shun confirms the right crystal.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's grab i-"

Jacqli stands in front of him before he can even get close to the crystal.

"Don't go there unless you have a death wish," she shakes her head. "Scan the temperature, and you'll see what I mean."

'Command, activate, infravision.' Gilbert activate another vision enchancer, revealing that the area glowing in intense heat. "Woah, it's really hot at there. Thanks for the warning Jacqli."

"We'll be burnt to ash before we can get it," she comments.

"This itself is such a waste of energy. One year of this can boil everyone's bathwater for 10 years. We must get rid of this..." Shun glares.

"There must be an energy source close by. Can you find it?" Jacqli asks the man in robotic-like suit. He starts scanning the area again.

"Gilbert, please don't overdo it or you'll be exhausted again like on Etna..." Laura warns him.

"Don't worry, this helmet draws power from the suit, not my stamina," Gilbert turns to Jacqli. "I can't find anything like a power source... Sorry."

"Then we have to search the nearby rooms. It shouldn't be far."

"I see only two lifts nearby here..."

"Then ride one," she crosses her arms. Croix points to one of the lift and they descend to a hall under.

"Seriously, there should be a limit on how much lifts that a section of a building can, I mean if the power of-"

Gilbert stops when the party enters the room at the end of the hall, residing a huge... robotic... worm thing.

"Welp."

"A Divine Beam!?" Shun readies himself in battle position. "So this is where they were positioned!"

"Is that bad?" Croix also readies his weapon.

"It's worse than bad, that's mobile fortresses that can keep making Divine Armies all day. It's a fortress weapon developed before the world's civilization died 700 years ago."

"Which means... if these are around, Old Town will always be-"

"-in fear of the Divine Army. They can't escape."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Gilbert raises his rifle and shots the giant robot-thing.

*Fwip!*

*Boom!*

The bullet fails to penetrate the robot and explodes, only leaving a mark on it.

"Crap."

*Beep!*

It looks to Gilbert and retaliates by launching several rockets from the top of its head to him and the others. His helmet marks those rockets so it's easier to track.

"Double crap," he immediately raises his shield to cover himself. "EXPLOSIVES!"

***Boom!***

***Boom!***

***Boom!***

Smoke from the explosions clear out and revealing him still in one piece. Thanks to his powered suit and shield, he's able to withstand the blast. The others also able to defend the missiles, but the factory isn't done yet, it's ready to bombard them again.

"I got it!" Amarie climbs to a nearby wall, jumps, and shots the thing from the up to the hole where the missiles comes out, make them prematurely explodes just on the robot's head.

***Boom!***

The explosion knocks the robot-factory down, but it starts emitting some strange sounds, then a light covers the entire robot, and it hovers back.

"What just happened?" Luca surprised when she sees the robot-factory recovers it's own damage.

"It regenerated. What a waste of energy..." Shun slowly backs out.

"1921456..."

"Jacqli? What are you saying?" Croix stares to mumbling Jacqli.

"It said an ID..." She stops when her eyes see Croix's face contains a mixture between confusion and anticipating the robot's next attack. "Even if we fight it, it's just going to recover. Let's back away for now."

"Where?"

"The previous room with many Hymn Crystals, I know how to deal with that thing," she says. The party retreat from the room, but they're not done yet...

00000

"So, what's in your mind?" Shun asks the shortest reyvateil.

"Is the Hymn Crystal to control that guy really going to be here?"

"Hm... I can't say there isn't a possibility, but I can't tell at all which one belongs to that Divine Beam."

"It said an ID number, we just need to look at each one."

"Uh... But there's a lot of crystals here..." Gilbert tries to count them all.

"Then we better start searching now, unless you have a better idea..."

Croix and Gilbert sighs, then the party start looking at each crystals.

"Uh..."

"What again?" Jacqli stares sharply.

"I can't read these alphabets..."

"Then don't. Go guard the entrance to this room, alert us if anything comes in," she turns back to the crystals. Croix pats his back and nods, indirectly saying that he should just hear her words. Gilbert takes a deep breath and walks outside. Laura also walks following him.

00000

"Pfttt... Guard duty again..."

Gilbert goes prone and sets up his anti-materiel rifle. Not long after, Laura comes from behind.

"Uhm, Gilbert..."

"Eh? What is it Laura?"

"Well, we can look those Hymn Crystals together if you want, I can read the numbers on it..."

"Uh... No, I think I am more useful here than there. Jacqli has right point: it'll be troublesome if something barges in when looking them."

"That's true..." She's twiddling her index fingers. "Uhm, anyway, I want to talk something. About that night on Etna Inn..."

"Uh huh?"

"You know, when we doing...this... and that..."

"I don't understand..."

"You know, when I'm in your room... Doing..." She tries to spit the word. "'Lewd' things..."

"Oh," he glances for a while, but quickly regain his focus on his scope. Gilbert wonders why does she bring this topic at this time, but he remembers that they didn't have the time to talk about it, since they're busy saving the world. "What's about it?"

"Uhm... Can we... Stop doing that thing for the time being? I think it'll be better if we wait until we're ready..."

"I get it... Sorry Laura, I'm letting my lust take over my mind at that time..."

"As long I'm doing it with you, I don't really mind at all. I just think that it'll be better for both of us if we wait..."

*Wuung!*

"Sttth, did you hear that?" Gilbert aims at the corridor again, then he scans the surrounding. "Two robots coming from the lift that we used before. Stand by Laura,"

She nods whilst her boyfriend waits steadily at the robots. Once they shows themselves on the corridor...

*Fwip!*

*Boom!*

One down, but there's one more, and it immediately rushes to Gilbert. Laura wants to charge her song magic, but she can't destroy the robot only by her power.

"Gilbert, go back and warn every-"

"I got this!" He doesn't even move from his positions. 'If I shots that damn thing now it'll be easily dodged...'

Twenty five meters...

Ten meters...

Three meters...

'Now!'

*Fwip!*

He shots the robot in nearly point blank range, just before it launches its attack. It can't dodge the bullet that launched.

***Boom!***

"That was close," Gilbert stands up and kicks the robot's remains so hard, it flings into the large lift to The Slums at the other end of the hall. The party rushes out from the room behind him.

"What's going on?" Shun asks.

"Don't worry, just some small fishes. Any luck with the Hymn Crystal?"

"I've downloaded it, hope you're ready for the bigger fish," Jacqli smirks.

"That factory is a _whale_ if you ask me."

"Excuse me?"

"A type of _really large_ fishes."

"Hey, let's get going before the factory produces more robots," Croix cuts their chatter. The party then rides the nearby elevator back to confront the robot-factory again...

**END OF CHAPTER 42**


	43. Chapter 43

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 43 = To Stop A Production...

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**14:00 Gyro Stabilizer**

The factory still hovers in the same room where the party found it. The thing seems doesn't aware of the party's presence.

"Now, how should I cook this thing up?" Jacqli smirks. She looks really confident.

"Make it explode. You can do it, don't you?"Gilbert throws a request.

"...Don't push it too far," Croix hits his backside.

"I'll keep it down," She does some stretching. "Hehe! I feel butterflies down my throat."

'Wow, what's got into her? She looks much more cheerful than before,' he stares at the reyvateil. It doesn't take long before she starts to sing. Some lights covers the entire thing, but it breaks quickly, and the factory turns to the party.

"Grh, info manipulation!?"

"What's wrong?!"

"Someone's controlling it from the inside.A lot of the commands I'm giving it are getting cancelled immediately," She explains.

"What? That's impossible, unless it's being accessed through the Binary Field," Shun disses the idea.

"Which means, someone's living in the Binary Field."

"Impossible."

"It's not impossible. Have first-hand experience."

"Guys... We have a problem here," Gilbert tries to bring their attention to the angry robot in front of them.

"Looks like we've been talking too long... You go ahead and finish that thing off, I'll disturb the commands so it can't execute it's regeneration command," she starts to sing again. The thing then produces two new robots from it's belly. Shun defends her while the others fights the robots.

"Amarie, could you climb to the top of the Divine Beam again?" Croix yells whilst he shots one of the Divine Army.

"I'm trying, but it moves wildly this time! We need to hold it first!"

"I'll do it!" Luca immediately charges a song magic, which Lady Cloche and Laura helps. Suddenly a girl materialized from above, and she produces many vines to bind all the Divine Army and the Divine Beam.

"Okay, here we-"

The factory continues to fire missiles to the party even when it can't move.

*Boom!*

"Sorry, it keeps firing on me!" Amarie apoligizes as she dodges the missiles thrown to her.

"It seems I have to do it myself, but I need something more than normal attacks to destroy the Divine Beam..." He turns his head to Gilbert. "I have an idea, but I need your biggest gun! Could you lend me it for a while when I ask it?"

"Fine, but could you handle the recoil?"

"...I'll deal with that later, how to shoot that thing?"

"Aim with the scope, then-"

*Boom!*

"-pull the trigger!" Gilbert shots down one of the robots that's trying to attack Jacqli whose singing behind defending Shun. The factory re-produce another robot to replace the downed one.

"This is my full strength!"

"Now!" Croix yells, and Gilbert gives his gun to him. The knight then flies to the top with his rocket-spear of the factory and tries to stab, but it doesn't do much at all-

"Eat this!"

He raises Gilbert's gun and aims it to the place where rockets come out, and shoots it inside.

*Fwip!*

The recoil knocks him down from the top of the factory as the robots explodes from the shot.

***KABOOOOOM!***

"I'll get you, I'll get you!" Gilbert runs to the falling Croix and catch him.

*Bam!*

"Argh!"

Croix feels pain from his whole body. Gilbert's suit does a poor job as a cushion as the suit's outer shell is solid.

"Croix!" Luca runs to her hurt boyfriend as Gilbert put him down to the floor. She immediately cast a healing song magic on him.

"That's really insane Croix, insanely awesome," Gilbert gives him his compliment, then gives him his hand to help him stand, which Croix grabs and stands. He looks around for a while, trying to find Gilbert's gun, and he finds it: lying on the ground, broken. It doesn't survive the fall.

"Damn... Sorry about your gun Gilbert."

"Can we craft a new one? I can't really do the battle with this peashooter,"he shows his P90, then gathers the remains of his broken gun.

"Alright, we'll see Cynthia when we go back to Pastalia-"

"Hey, I find something over here!" Cocona yells from the bridge behind the destroyed factory, and the party goes to her except Jacqli and Shun. They seems to have a conversation...

"Hm... This is the same thing we saw in the underground passage at Dreamy Fields," he looks to the panel carefully.

"Maybe this is the control panel to turn of the security system for Veena?"

"...We have to ask the correct person to know that," He walks back a little. "Sorry Shun, can you come over here for a while?"

The robotic-dog looks to Jacqli for a while, then walks to Croix. He points to the panel.

"Yeah, looks like it. Let me try accessing it," He steps to it and does something to the panels, and steps out. "That should do it. You should be able to get the crystal now."

"Sorry to bother you. You're a big help," Croix says and the party walks out from the room to get the Hymn Crystal Veena.

00000

"So we had to defeat the Divine Beam to get the crystal anyway?" Cocona wonders.

"Theoretically, we can sneak behind that factory to the panel, but since we don't even know the panel's existence before it's destruction..." Gilbert starts to talk whilst the party walks. "It's not like we're going to leave it producing more Divine Army."

"Uh huh," Luca nods. "But since it's been destroyed, now the people of the Old Town won't have to worry again!"

"Yes, that's right," Lady Cloche also nods.

The party stops walking when they reach the Hymn Crystal again. Gilbert scans the surrounding again.

"Temperature looks okay... Hm..." He uses the barrel of the broken gun to poke the crystal until its fall down from the place.

"What are you doing?" Croix asks.

"Checking if we've disarmed all the security-"

Jacqli walks past him and grabs the crystal.

"Looks okay to me," she smiles smugly and gives the Hymn Crystal Veena to Croix. Gilbert feels really stupid now.

"So much for cautiousness..." He stares to the broken gun barrel and sighs.

00000

The party walks again to the lift back to the slums, but Gilbert keep staring at his gun's pieces.

"It was a good gun, wasn't it?" Laura asks her boyfriend.

"Yeah, she never fails delivering lethal shots to the enemies..." He place himself at the corner of the lift. "At least she fulfill her duty until the end."

"That's your second big gun, wasn't it Gilbert? Where's the old one?" Amarie joins to the conversation.

"Destroyed when Raki slashed me."

"I hope Cynthia is able to create something durable for you, but I doubt she can re-create your gun. It's not from our technology," Croix tells him.

"Uh, I think she still has the schematics that I used back when I craft the guns at her shop. Maybe she can use it."

"I have a bad feeling about that..." The knight feels a sudden chill on his back.

"Why?"

"She'll try to recreate your weapons with that. I have feeling that she'll give me a synthesize recipe from the schematics..."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Not really, but the result tends to be... different, as usual. You know, like how Laura makes the shiny bombs,"

*Clang!*

The lift stops at the surface.

"Just make me something nice, oka-"

Gilbert stops when he sees a lot of people standing at the outside of the lift.

"Now what?"

**END OF CHAPTER 43**


	44. Chapter 44

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 44 = Rearm

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

**16:00 The Slums**

"Lady Luca! Lady Cloche!" Reine emerges from the crowd. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

"I'm so glad you're all back! Ah, what a celebration!"

"I'm so happy you're safe."

The crowd surrounds the maidens like they are the most famous person on the planet. Another crowd composed of group of knights also surround Leglius and Croix.

"Reine... how did you get all these people?" Luca asks, she seems to be overwhelmed by the crowds.

"Oh, don't underestimate the backalley info network of the Pastalian Slums!" The reyvateil says proudly. Gilbert chuckles behind his helmet.

"Well, they got all the attention," He talks.

"It's only natural, they're the maidens after all..." Laura responses.

"I think I know that voice..." Reine looks around whilst the maidens are busy talking with other people, and find the source of the voice. "Laura?"

"Reine!" She waves to her. "Finally, I thought you already forget about me..."

"You know each other?" Croix looks to the two I.P.D's.

"Uh huh. It's a long story..."

"I searched for you in Pastalia but I couldn't find you! I wanted to ask you to join the fan club, but wow, you travel along with Lady Luca and Lady Cloche instead!"

"Technically, she's traveling with us because of her boyfriend!" Amarie tries to push Gilbert forward, but can't because he weights too heavy in the powered suit. "Umph! Hey, introduce yourself-"

Gilbert shakes his head. He wants his presence low.

"Boyfriend? You got a boyfriend too? Who's the man? Is it Sir Croix?"

"Pstt... He's Lady Luca's..." Laura whispers.

"Ooooh... So, who's your man? Is he here?"

"Yes..." She points to the man in metallic-suit.

"Uh... Hello sir..."

"It seems I have to reintroduce myself... Don't be surprised, okay?" Gilbert gives command to release his helmet, revealing his scarred face and his golden eye. "Remember me?"

"Wait... Gilbert?" She guesses, and he nods. "What happene-"

"Long story, let's just say that I run into a series of accidents," he sighs.

"Wow, what heroic things that you do that you have that wounds?"

"I said accidents, not exactly heroic..."He tries to review the events that gives him the scars. "First, there's a wound on my back when I got attacked from behind in desert plate, you can't see them when we're met because it's under my clothes. Then I lost my eye when some robot girl slashed me. And the burn..."

He stops for a while. The moment when he got berserk with the potion... He better not tell her all the details.

"I got it when trying to reach Luca and Lady Cloche when they both escaped after the execution. Some Sacred Army reyvateils found me when I'm sneaking around and throw some song magics on me. I barely alive when I did found them..."

"Did you always in dangerous situation when guarding Lady Luca and Lady Cloche?"

"Not really..."

He feels uncomfortable with the questions from Reine, since he barely knows her other than she helped him when saving Laura. He takes a glance to the maidens, whose talking to even more people.

'At least I don't have to deal with so many people like them...'

"...Yup. It's an amazing Song that can create a tower that stretches to the heavens!" Luca says. It seems she tells them directly what the party intend to do.

'I hope the crowd will listen to them unlike their leaders.'

"Wow! Hey, so who's gonna sing it?" A boy asks her. Gilbert remember the party ever meet with him somewhere, but he can't exacly remember where...

"Well...It's... Me..." Luca slowly informs.

"You're going to sing it!?"

"Wow! Our Luca is going to create the tower!"

'The crowd responses sound good. Maybe they can help to convince the others who doesn't agree with the plan,' Gilbert smiles under his helmet. 'This will be good indeed.'

"...Oh, don't you know? Luca's real dream is to become a singer."

"...What?" Croix stares to his girl. Luca's face turns red and tries to cover it with both of her hands.

"Oh my Goddess! I was hiding it for the longest time!"

"Come now, it's fine!"

"You're going to sing the Divine Songs, you'll be the best singer in the world," a man and woman cheers her.

"Geez, forget it!" She runs away. Croix takes a deep breath and runs to catch her.

"Will you come with us Reine?" Laura asks.

"Can't, sorry. I'll try to spread Lady Luca and Lady Cloche's words though. We'll meet again later, okay?"

"Thanks for all your help Reine," Lady Cloche turns to her.

"Don't mind it! Please tell Lady Luca our farewell," Reine smiles to her back, then the rest of the party start to move back to Pastalia.

"See you later Reine!" Laura waves her hand before she lost the sight of her. Reine turns his head to the rest of the reyvateils behind her.

"Come on, we need to help the maidens uniting people's will! Spread the word to everyone!"

00000

**17:00 Croix's House**

The party gather together at Croix's house. Luca has calmed herself down.

"I never knew you want to become a singer," the man sits at the girl's side.

"W-well... I only told a few people I was going to sing at the tavern..."

"It's not like you had to hide it though."

"Yeah, I know... But at the time, I hated myself for it. You know we were poor. And so I didn't think it was the time to be going after dreams. That's why I hated myself for wanting to become a singer."

'I don't know she's _that_ poor that she has to abandon her dreams... Okay, her house is not the best house that I've ever seen, but at least she's still have a house to live-' He stops his train of thought. 'My family never had any bad financial situation that I have to work full-time though, so I can't really comment about her..."

"Luca..." Lady Cloche sympathizes. She tries to think something to cheer her, until an idea strucks. "Let's sing. I want to hear your song, too."

"What!?" Luca's surprised when she hears her sister's decision. "B-but... we have to hurry with Metafalica."

"Come on, you need to take breaks in between, too,"

"Yeah, it's because we're in this situation that we all wanna hear your song. It's because we live in this day and age, that we need songs," Croix also tries to convince her.

"Straining ourself won't get us far. I never hear your song other than song magic, so it should be a nice change for us," Gilbert gives his opinion. Laura nods at his side, acknowledging his words.

"Yeah, they're right! I wanna listen to your songs too, Luca!" Cocona

"Sounds great! I can accompany you with the harp, if you like," Amarie even offers her help. Luca bows down a bit to them.

"Everyone, thank you... Is it really okay if I sing?"

"Of course! So where do you want to sing?"

"I want to sing in Rakshek, because the people who worried for me even when I wasn't there, are there," She looks down for a while. "Honestly, I didn't think people thought so much of me.  
Once I stopped seeing them, I thought it would be over, but everyone... always, no matter how long it had been, would welcome me in. That's why... I want to thank everyone."

"Alrighty then! It's been decided on Rakshek! Let's head out to there now!" Cocona starts walking, but her big brother holds her.

"It'll be night soon. We better go to Rakshek tomorrow."

"Besides, we have to fix Gilbert's weapon, right?" Luca says. "It'll be too sudden if I go sing now anyway..."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's goto Cynthia!" Cocona grabs her brother's hand and pull him out of the house.

"Hey, wait-"

00000

**17:20**

"Hello Coo! Hello Cocona! Hello every-" The weapon store owner greets, but stops when she sees a figure in robotic-like suit. "Woah, who's the new face?"

"It's me..."Gilbert releases his helmet again and put it on the counter.

"Uh... I believe we've never met before..."

"That's Gilbert... He's ever make some weapons on your shop before."

"Gilbert?" She looks close to the man, and she finally gets who's he. "Oh, I remember him! Anyway, I was waiting for you to come here. Geez, why don't you come here earlier? I heard that you have some battles at Old Town! I could make something for you before going!"

"Well...Actually-"

00000

"Hmm..." Cynthia looks to the broken pieces of the gun. "Well, I think this is not repairable. But-"

She pulls out a piece of paper and give it to Croix.

"We can make a new one! Not only that, we can improve it so the weapon can be used as a defensive tool, just like your speargun!"

"And therefore, Croix also able to use it," Gilbert points out.

"Well, that's one of the advantage!" She rubs the back of her own head. "We could salvage some of the parts for the needed materials, so we can start synthesizing now."

"I see," Croix turns to the rest of the party. "Anyone wants to help?"

'I should volunteered...Gilbert will be happy if I help fixing his gun,' Laura slowly raises her hand...

"I'll do it," Jacqli moves forward. "I'm curious what I can build with technology from another world."

"Okay, let's get started!" Cynthia heats up the furnace. Laura sulks inside, blaming herself because she's not raising her hand fast enough.

"Uhm... Can I help too?"

"Sorry, but it'll be too crowded if there's another person working on the gun. Thanks for the offer, though," Cynthia says. Laura backs and smiles, hiding her disappointment.

00000

"The earlier weapon is able to convert sound produced to something that normal people can't hear?" Jacqli asks whilst she looks to the blueprint

"Yep."

"That's a pretty advanced technology, if you asked me," Croix comments as he puts a red hot steel iron into a bucket of water. "Anyway, it's getting bigger than the original gun..."

"Of course. The earlier weapon failed to penetrate the Divine Beam's armor, and I have to disturb it and you have to shoot the weapon on the top of the factory, therefore it has failed it's purpose to defeat the enemy at range in one shot," Jacqli says the reason. "We have to up the ante or it'll be useless against stronger enemy."

"But it'll be useless if the user can't handle such a weapon! Bigger weapons are mounted on a vehicle for a reason you know, " Cynthia protest.

"And I can't hide well if the weapon is too big..." Gilbert adds.

"You can't always hide and shoot in battle. Remember when we're on Gyro Stabilizer? Can you hide with tight corridors and lifts everywhere?" The reyvateil stares. "The advantage of your weapon lies in its destructive firepower in a short time. We're trying to reinforce that. Besides, because its increased size and durability, you can use it to defend yourself or reyvateils behind you while in close combat."

"What about my shield?" He shows it to her. "It protects me well enough from the explosives launched by the robot factory."

"But you rarely use it because you have to sheath your main weapon first and have to grab the shield from your back," She snatch the shield from him. "I'll combine this with the new weapon."

"I hope you know what you're doing..."

"Of course I know," She looks to Raki's energy sword, hanging inactive on the side of his suit. "How about you give me that too along with the rest of your weapon and I'll combine it all?"

"You know how it works?" Shun asks from behind.

"Just sit there and see the result."

00000

"And... It's done! We did it!" Cynthia raises the finished huge-sized weapon. It looks nowhere near the original weapon. "Woah, this is monstrous!"

"Of course it's the combination of all guns that Gilbert had,"Jacqli looks satisfied with the result. Croix tries to hold it.

"This is really heavy. I don't think it's suitable for me in battle..."

"Really? Gilbert, try it," she commands. Gilbert lifts the weapon with no problem. "See?"

"That means Coo can't use it! It's a big problem!" Cynthia protest.

"I'm fine with my own weapon..." Croix calms his friend down.

"Could you explain how to use it?" Gilbert swings it around.

"First, we used the shield as the outer shell of the weapon and reinforce it, so the thing should be impervious to most strikes, and therefore, you can use it as a shield obviously," Jacqli explains. "Let's test it, shall we?"

Croix grabs a normal spear from the weapon rack nearby as Gilbert raises the weapon.

*Clang!*

Croix's attack gets deflected by the board side of the weapon. Gilbert looks to where the weapon hits: The spear can't even dent the new weapon.

"That's great, but I need a long-range-weapon-"

"I'm not finished yet," She cuts Gilbert's complaint. "Look under the outer shell. It lies two barrels, the small and the bigger one.. First the small firing some small rounds..."

Cynthia place a doll for target practice. Gilbert notices there's a trigger near the handle, and an iron sight on the top. He aims to the doll and pull the trigger...

*Ctaktaktak!*

Some beam projectiles burst out and strikes the doll's body. He immediately notices two thing: First, the gun produces louder sound compared to the usual 'fwip' sound, and the... beam burns a hole to the doll instead of piercing it.

"Did you change the ammunition Jacqli?"

"Not changed. 'Improved', she smirks. "It still harmful to human targets, and you can at least blind tougher enemies with that. Plus, you don't have to switch your weapon. Better than your peashooter, isn't it?"

"Sacrificing stealth for utility... Okay, I guess. But-"

"Save the questions for later. Next, flip the selector switch," instructs Jacqli. Gilbert sighs, but he follows her instruction. Nothing happens... Jacqli attach a scope on the top of the iron sight. "Come on, try it,"

Gilbert aims and pulls the trigger again.

*WHOOOOOSH!*

The weapon launches a powerful projectile really,_ really_ fast, that Gilbert can't even see it. The only thing that he see is the pieces of a disintegrated doll, along with a neat hole on the wall behind it.

*Clang!*

A bullet casing ejects from the bottom side of the weapon. It looks much bigger than the usual .50 caliber bullet.

"Holy..." Gilbert stares at the destruction that it makes, then stares back to the weapon. "I think I'm in love now."

Laura feels a bit jealous and really down. If only she raises her hand, she'll get the praise from him instead of Jacqli. If only...

"Sorry about the hole..." Croix apologizes to the shop owner.

"Don't mind it, I'm happy we're able to create such a powerful weapon! Although it's a shame that you can't use it..."

"I can't use it either without the suit's strength. If it's broken, then..."

"And finally, flip the switch behind that grip."

Jacqli commands again. Gilbert does it: An energy blade shows up, pointing forward like a bayonet.

"Sweet," Gilbert smiles.

"...Where did you learn how that thing works?" Shun asks to Jacqli.

"One of my acquaintance back at home have one of the maintenance droid. The sword works quite similar to the one at home uses, so it's not hard to tinker it," She pats Gilbert's back. "Any question?"

"Uh... Not at the moment I think. This is good for me."

"Great. I name it All Purpose Weapon, because it fits in all combat situation, ranged or close."

"It's a wonder how we able to fit all his gun into one weapon..." Croix comments, and give some money to Cynthia. "Thanks for the help. It's getting late, we're going back now."

"Fine... But promise that you'll see me more often, oka-"

"I can't."

Croix walks out before she even finished talking. Gilbert chuckles, then grab his helmet and wear it.

"Humph!" Cynthia pouts from behind.

"Once again thanks for the help Cynthia," Gilbert also says his farewell, and walks out.

"See you later! Convince Coo to see me often!"

**END OF CHAPTER 44**


	45. Chapter 45

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 45 = Sick

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

******22:00 Croix's House**

Gilbert put the new weapon on the floor and release his suit. His shirt's drenched in sweat.

"Phew..."

"Gilbert, are you okay?"

"I'm okay Laura. I really need a bath though."

"You'll catch cold if you bath in this hour..." Croix put his glasses on the table and lies on the rug. Gilbert sits and rest his body on nearby wall.

"I guess I have to wait until tomorrow. I'm too tired to clean myself anyway. Goodnight."

The girls walk upstairs to get some rest too. Laura sighs and lets her boyfriend rest.

"Not giving a 'good night kiss' to your man?" Amarie teases and pats her back. Laura just stay silent, her head's a bit swinging now. She stops and holds the stair's handle. "Hey, are you okay?"

Laura shakes her head.

"I'm okay... Just a small headache," she assures her. She walks immediately to the bed and lay on it, instead of having a small talk with the other. "Sorry, but I'll sleep early for today."

"It's already late at night anyway. Luca, you have to save your energy for your performance tomorrow! You don't want your friends to see you tired, right?" Amarie says.

"About that, I have to speak to Targana first before we're going to the airport..."

Laura can't really hear what they're talking about as her consciousness fades away...

00000

******05:00**

*Whooosh!*

Gilbert opens his eyes. He's still lies on the wall, and it's dark here, and his body feels so cold, thanks to the cold night and his wet shirt.

'Damn, it seems I wake up too early...' He comments in his head when seeing everyone else is still sleeping. He decides to open the laptop to waste time.

*Ding!*

A video pops out when he opens it. Gilbert goes outside and set the sound low so he won't disturb everyone else's sleep.

"Hello there Gilbert!" The video starts. It shows all the support team. Billy is the one who talks now on the camera. "I- Uh... Ahem, we recorded this to show you what files that we include inside my laptop, in addition to your files, we're afraid by the time Hans team are done with their scientific questions and sending you this laptop, we won't have the time to give our final guide."

The video now shows the files on the laptop's desktop. Someone, presumably Billy, open a file on the desktop and shows the data inside.

"This is the complete guide of the game. Since you have changed the story by saving Luca and Cloche's mother, maybe some things will change, with the worst is both of the maidens not bonded enough to create Metafalica. If something wrong with their relationship, convince Croix or some other people in the party to help mending their relationship. Seriously, read the guide and don't mind about the spoiler. This is not a game anymore, you'll need every knowledge about future events to survive."

"I'll be honest, you won't lose your eye if you want to be spoiled about major events that'll be happen. We would've informed you about Raki. This is no longer a game-"

"We get the point Karen. Stop," Josh shuts her up. Gilbert touch his eye and give it a thought. She's right. He remember when he said that he's technically still playing the game. A game won't make someone lose an eye. Gilbert takes out his PDA and-

'Huh?'

His PDA is dead. He's quite shocked and hits it lightly a few times, before a memory hits him: His PDA was dead once, when the team dissemble the PS2. Maybe that's how they cut the connection?

"Hm? Gilbert?"

Laura walks down quietly from the upper floor.

"Ah, sorry. Did I disturb your sleep?"

"Of course not. I usually wake up this early. I heard some noises on the bottom, I'm afraid there's something, so I decide to check the downstairs..." She looks to his laptop. "What's that?"

"Uh... A video. They recorded it before sending this device to me," he closes it. If anyone knows the video, he'll have a hard time to explain to them. "Sorry, it is private..."

"Oh... Don't mind me, I'll go back upstair-"

"No, don't go," Gilbert stops her when he realizes that he indirectly tell her to go away. "Could you sit here? If you don't mind of course-"

Laura immediately sits on his side before he could say more words. He's a bit smelly, but she doesn't mind, her time with him was taken by Jacqli before, she has to be brave now if she doesn't want another moment with him taken away again.

"What is it, Gilbert?" She says quietly to his ear, almost like a whisper.

"About yesterday's evening... I see your sad face when I'm synthesizing my weapon. Did something happened?"

"Uhm... No, it's not important..."

"Come on, I'm willing to hear it," he tries to make her talk.

"It just... I was a bit disappointed that I can't help you at that time," she yields and starts to talk. "I feel like guilty for not immediately volunteer to help. I mean, I'm your girlfriend, I'm supposed to help you all the time, but..." her voice falls off and she stops talking.

"Hey... I'm your boyfriend, not a god that you need to worship," Gilbert holds her shoulder. He thinks he better use this to make her not too attached to him. "In fact, you should tell me when I'm asking too much from you. Like when we're on Gyro Stabilizer. You did the right by telling me that you don't want us to do...it, but it'll be better if you said it earlier, so I won't act against your will."

"...You don't want me to get close to you?"

"What? Of course no-" His voice starts to get higher, but holds himself in fear of waking everyone else. "I'm flattered that you devote yourself so much to me, but you're a being on your own too. I feel like asking too much from you; Making you leave your home to follow me, even you're willing to abandon Metafalica for my world... You've done so much for me that I'm worried about you. Have you ever thought about yourself? What about your distant family?"

"Gilbert..." She feels her own head swinging again.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't said it..."

"No..." She tries to keep herself from passing out. "Gilbert, I've made my decision, and I realize the consequences. My distant families are not really happy seeing me either after what happened to my parents, so please don't make it hard on me..."

She puts her head on his shoulder. She feels really sick right now...

"Okay Laura, I'm really sorry. I won't bring it up aga-" He notices her sick face. "Laura? Laura, what's wrong?"

"I'm okay... I just feel sleepy again..." She lies about her condition to him. "Don't worry about me..."

"Well, fine..." He put his laptop aside. He doesn't move much because his girlfriend is sleeping on his shoulder right now, and he's hesitant to tell his girlfriend to go back to her bed.

"Urgh... I hope no one will make a wuss about this later..."

00000

07:00

"Should we wake them up?" Lady Cloche asks.

"Uhm, I think we should let them be until the water for the bath is ready," Luca shakes her head. Cocona slowly takes the device on his side and examining it.

"I wonder..."

"Cocona, don't touch that without his permission," Croix steps out from the bathroom. "The tub is ready."

"Oh well, time to wake this lovebirds!" Amarie whispers to Laura's ear. "Wakey wakey~"

She doesn't react. Instead her boyfriend is the one who wakes up.

"Hmm? Oh, good morning guys."

"Morning. Anyway, could you wake Laura up? We're going to take a bath soon," Lady Cloche asks. He nods and taps her shoulder a few times.

"Laura, wake up, it's already morning."

She slowly open her tired eyes.

"Uhm... Yes mom..."

It seems like she's still half asleep. She slowly stands up, but falls before she could get on her own feet.

*Buk!*

"Laura!?" Gilbert immediately hold her body and let her body rest on nearby wall.

"Uhn... Gilbert... Everyone..."

"Laura, are you okay?"

He touches her forehead: It's really hot.

"I think she's sick. Can we heal him with song magic?"

"Uhm, I think it won't help much if we don't know what's wrong with her. To cure diseases we still have to rely on medicine," Informs Luca. "Let's go to hospital to check her out!".

"No, I'll ask my personal doctor to come here. Give me a telecell," Lady Cloche suggest.

"I'm fine... You don't have to worry..."

"Sssttt...Rest now, I'll carry you back to the bed."

Gilbert lift her sick body and walk upstairs. Cocona looks from behind.

"Uh, so we're not taking a bath?"

00000

******08:00**

The doctor informs them after he finishes his examination.

"She has a fever. I have given her the injections that she needs, so she should be fine now as long as she rests."

"Thanks."

The doctor walks out from the house. Gilbert holds her hand: it's cold.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to be a burden, but..."

"Laura, please get some rest. We'll be going to Rakshek now, could you watch her Gilbert?" Lady Cloche asks.

"Of course. I wish you luck with your song Luca."

"Thanks, we'll get back soon."

"Don't do anything naughty without us around, do you?"

Amarie teases him, which he only responses by rolling his eye. They start to walk out from the house, but Gilbert call them again.

"Oh, and anyway, can I bring her to her own house? I think she'll be more comfortable at there."

"Sure," Croix nods.

"Wait, I'll take my belongings," Gilbert runs downstairs. It takes a few minutes until he comes back with the mechanical suit, and he carry her girlfriend's body without effort. "Meet with us on her house after you guys done, okay?"

"Don't worry, I remember the place."

He walks slowly to the outside along with the party, and Croix locks the door of his house.

"I hope you'll be healthy again with no time Laura!" Cocona waves as Gilbert walks to Laura's house. She can only smiles weakly to her, unable to wave back.

END OF CHAPTER 45


	46. Chapter 46

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 46 = Cousin

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

******08:10 Laura's House**

Gilbert slowly put his girlfriend on a bed. He put his suit off and sit on her side.

"Gilbert... Sorry..."

"Next time be honest when I ask about your condition, okay? I don't want you to be harmed..." He stands up. "I'll make you something for breakfast. Where's the kitchen?"

"No, it's okay, I'll do it myself..." She tries to stand up, but Gilbert immediately holds her.

"Please, rest. Do it for me, okay?"

She finally relents and tells him where the kitchen is, and he departs. Once arrived, he opens the fridge-

*Cough!*

Unpleasant smell stings his nose. Some of the foods has spoiled. He grabs and throws the spoiled food into a garbage bin.

"There are some canned foods, but I don't know the alphabets on it or the weird pictures... Is that an animal meat that's the can contain or only a logo?"

He tries to figure it out, but he doesn't want to open the can yet, since they only stay on her house for a while: He'll waste the ingredients that he doesn't use.

"I guess I have to ask Laura then..." He sighs, and carries all the cans to the room where Laura rest. "Laura? You awake?"

"Uh huh..." She slowly opens her eyes as he put the cans to the side of her bed.

"Sorry, but do you know the content of these cans? I can't read the words on the can."

"Uhm... This is meat... And this is beans..."

He listens to her, then thinks what he can make with those ingredients. He can fry the meat if there's some oil at the kitchen, but he heard that he shouldn't give sick person any fried foods. It doesn't take long until he gives up.

"You don't mind some soup, do you?"

She nods. She'll eat anything that he cook. Gilbert smiles and carries back the cans to the kitchen. He stores back the one that he doesn't use, and start cooking while looking around for additional ingredients.

'I hope I won't screw this up...'

00000

After some time, Gilbert finally makes a soup. He tastes it: It's fine, not really bad or good. He fetch one bowl of the soup and carefully brings it to Laura, since it's still hot.

"Here Laura. Can you smell it?" He puts it on a small table near her bed. "Can you sit?"

"Yeah, I feel a lot better now... I think I can even walk now. I'll eat on the dining room..."

She tries to get off from the bed, but her boyfriend doesn't let her.

"Hey, don't push yourself. You'll eat here, okay?" He holds the bowl, takes a spoonful of the soup and blow it to cool the soup. "Open your mouth..."

"Uhm..."

"Come on, Lady Cloche is not here. Besides you're sick, she should be understand if she see us anyway."

She slowly nods and open her mouth, then he feeds her, just like on that restaurant on Rakshek.

"Is it good?"

She nods. She doesn't really care about the taste, as long as she's with him... Although...

"Gilbert, you should eat something too..."

"I've made four servings of this soup, one for me, one for you, and the other two for the dinner. I'll eat it after you finished with yours, okay?"

"You don't have to feed me Gilbert, I can eat on my own, but could you eat with me, please?"

It's not like she doesn't want to fed by him, in fact she's really like it, but she doesn't want her boyfriend starve just because of her selfish wish.

"Fine, I guess," he hands her the bowl, and walks out. After a while he comes back with another bowl of soup. They both start to eat together.

00000

"Thank you for the soup..."

"Not a big deal," he takes her empty bowl along with his. "I'll wash this for a while, then I'll show you some stuff inside my laptop. Do you like puzzle games?"

"Actually, I'll appreciate if you could teach me your language..."

"You're sick Laura, I shouldn't tire your brain with lessons... But if you insist, I can teach you some words from an point-and-click adventure game," he stands up and ready to depart. "Until that time, lay on your bed, okay?"

Laura nods and put her head on a pillow. Luca and others should be on Rakshek now...

00000

*Knock Knock!*

Gilbert was just finished washing the dirty bowls and spoons when he hears someone knocking on the door.

'Who's that? Croix and the others can't be returned that fast from Rakshek...'

He quickly opens the door, and find a woman, with golden short hair. She gets startled when the woman see his face.

'Damn... Too late to cover my eye now. I hope she won't running away...'

"E-e-e-excuse me..." She slowly spits the words from her mouth. "I'm looking for my cousin. She used to live here before vanishing..."

"Laura?"

"Yes, that's her name!" She quickly perked up after hearing his girlfriend's name. "Do you know where's she right now?"

He looks to her carefully. Laura never mentioned any friends to him before...

"She's inside, but she's sick right now," he explains.

"Please, let me meet with her! I'm really worried when she leaved the house without trace. I... There's something really important that I need to tell to her..."

Gilbert's not sure whether he should let her go inside or not. Laura's sick right now, but he can't tell the woman to go back when she's healthier, since when she does, they probably will depart again with Croix.

"Gilbert... Who's tha-" Laura steps out from her room, and find her man is talking with a familiar face.

"Laura!" The woman calls her and walks past him. Laura walks back to her own bed without even care with the call. "Laura, I'm sorry, okay!"

She runs to her room. Gilbert want to stop her, but if she really did her cousin... Maybe she can uncover some of Laura's past that she doesn't want to tell him. He slowly hear them from the outside of the room, so he won't disturb them.

"...Why do you come here? Don't you hate me like the others?"

"I'm sorry Laura. My parents didn't allow me to meet you before because they afraid I'll be infected too. I wanted to say something to them, but I can't..."

She reach something from her pocket: A letter.

"Aunt Misaki is worried about you. She has talked with the rest of the family; They agree to accept your father, and acknowledge that none of the incident are your fault. She told me that you should go with her until-"

"I can't."

"I know, you're sick, but surely you can go after-"

"No."

"...Did you still mad to us?" She goes silent for a while."Not all of us resents your father or you... At least let us help you, you won't last long here alone!"

"I'm not alone, there's my boyfriend. I won't stay long anyway."

"Boyfriend? You mean the man there is your lover? And what do you mean you won't stay long?"

"I'm helping my boyfriend accompanying the maidens. They're the one whose curing me after all. I'm here only because I'm sick, that's al-"

*Wuung!*

Her head spinning again. Her head feels spinning again that she wants to throw up, but she tries to hold it, she doesn't want to waste her boyfriend's cooking.

"Laura? Laura, what's wrong!"

Gilbert immediately rushes in when he hears her cousin panicking.

'I... Cant... Hold...'

She quickly run to the nearest sink and throws up. Gilbert massages the back of her neck so she can throws it all.

"Do you feel better now?" Gilbert asks once his girlfriend stops throwing up. She slowly nods, and he helps her walking back to her bed. "Is it because of my food?"

"No... It tastes good..."

"I mean, do you have some allergy or foods that forbidden to you to eat?"

She shakes her head. Gilbert helps her laying on her bed once they goes back to her bedroom.

"Have you brought her to the hospital?"

"No, but she has been checked up by Lady Cloche's doctor before back in one of the knight's house, and she said Laura has a fever."

"I'm not doubting the doctor's check up, but I think we should go to hospital now. Maybe she missed something. I'll call my aunt for her help."

"I'm okay!" She shakes her head to her cousin. "I... Only need more rest..."

"Laura..." Her cousin turns to Gilbert, her eyes indirectly pleading to him to agree with her.

"About the hospital fee..."

"Don't worry about that, we'll handle tha-"

"Gilbert..." Laura grabs his hand. "I'm fine. It just a fever..."

"Laura, this is for your health. You won't be throwing up if it just a fever," he held her hand tight. "I don't want anything bad happened to you..."

"Fine..." She slowly nods.

"Thank you mister," The woman bows to him. "Give me a few minutes, I'll call my aunt right away. I'll borrow your telemo for a while Laura!"

She walks out from the room, leaving Gilbert and Laura alone in the room.

"Do you really hate your extended family that much?"

"They hate dad for marrying mom... And me too because of that accident... Saying that I'm a cursed child from my dad..."

Gilbert feels her pain just by hearing her words. He really wants to find the person responsible and beat them, because they almost make Laura killed herself instead of helping her.

"But... Not all of them like that, right? Don't blame everyone because of some people in your family hate you. I think your cousin is sincere with her words."

"I don't care, when we'll leave to your world, we won't meet none of them anyway... I'm sure they won't mind me when I'm leave."

"But at least you have to leave a good impression to those whose do care about you, right?"

*Tap Tap!*

The woman comes back into the room.

"She's on the way here. Could you help her walk, mister..."

"Just call me Gilbert. Yes, I can, don't worry about that."

"Thank you. My name is Yuki Ryotaro. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself properly earlier."

She bows to him as a greeting.

"Nice to meet you," he bows back to her.

"Uhm, so... When did you met with him Laura? I never heard that you have a boyfriend before."

"Not long after your family told me that I'm a_ cursed child._ You were there weren't you? Don't tell me that you don't remember-"

"Laura!"

Gilbert yells. He can't bear her anger anymore, she's like a completely different person. Laura's face instantly changed from hate to afraid, since he never yells to her before.

"Laura, if you hate someone, at least direct it to the person responsible." He takes a deep breath. He really doesn't know how to deal with the situation. "Sorry."

"You don't have to yell to her, my parents indeed says horrible stuff to her, and I didn't even try to stop them... I will wait outside then..."

Yuki starts to walk out of the room.

"Wait."

Laura says one word to her cousin, and she immediately stops on her track.

"Please stay here until aunt comes."

Yuki smiles. She nods and sits with her. No words muttered between her or her cousin, but she's already happy that Laura allows to accompany her.

00000

*Knock Knock!*

"I think that's my aunt. I'll get the door."

She walks out again. Gilbert tries to break the silence in the room, since Laura didn't say anything since she told her cousin to stay. Maybe she's angry to him too now?

"Laura... I..."

She raises her head and looks to him.

"I'm sorry that I yell to you, but I don't want you to blame anyone that's related to your family. That's so... Unlike you. You get what I'm trying to say, right?"

He holds her hands again.

"No, I'm not mad at you... My father would yell to me too if he hear my words..." Tears starts falling from her eyes, but she quickly wipe it. "Listen, if any of my family says cruel things to you... We go right away, okay? Don't worry about me, I'll be fine without their help."

"Come on Laura, don't start it again."

*Tap tap tap!*

Yuki walks back, with a middle-aged woman, wearing a glasses, and has... interesting hairstyle.

"Greetings," She nods to Laura and Gilbert. "Could you walk Laura?"

She nods, and Gilbert helps her stand. She walks as he holds her shoulder. He doesn't wear his suit because it'll intimidate the patients in the hospital, and unnecessary to add, since she's not in dire situation where she needs to be carried to hospital immediately.

"Hold on Laura, we'll be there soon."

******END OF CHAPTER 46**


	47. Chapter 47

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 47 = New Life

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

******12:40 Pastalia Hospital**

"Here, Laura," Gilbert let her sit on one of the bench. He never really go to the hospital before, other than to visit his older family members that's really sick, so he doesn't really know the procedure that it takes until she can get checked by a doctor, thankfully her aunt is handling the procedure now.

"Don't worry... We'll get you a doctor very soon..." Her cousin holds her hand, and Laura lets her, not wanting to make Gilbert yelling again, especially since they're in hospital now.

*Tap tap!*

Her aunt walks back from the receptionist.

"We can see the doctor now," she informs. "Yuki, please escort Laura to room 121 okay? I''ll wait here with this young man."

"No, I won't go without Gilbert! If something-" Laura shakes her head.

"Laura, listen to your aunt, I'll be fine," Gilbert helps her stand, then her cousin helps her stand. "Don't worry about me, okay?"

Laura goes silent for a while, then she nods and walks with her cousin.

"Take it easy Laura, one step at a time..."

Gilbert sits back on his seat once he can't see her girlfriend anymore. Her aunt sits on his side.

"I believe we haven't introduce our-self earlier, have we?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. My name is Gilbert, ma'am."

"Gilbert? Is that your full name?"

"No ma'am, it's Gilbert Caralie. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh... Nothing important, I only want to know your full name. My name is Misaki Ryotaro," she smiles. She looks really friendly, but Gilbert can feel something else behind that smile, he doesn't sure what it is. "Did Laura already told you about us?"

"Not until recently, ma'am, and honestly... I only heard bad stuff about her family from her."

Misaki stares to him, catching at every detail of his feature: his face, his voice, his choice of words...

"I see..." She sighs and lays back to the seat. "Could you tell me the details?"

"Well... First there's how her father being hated by her distant family, and then how she's being called a cursed child when asking for help..."

Each word from him, it's stabbing her heart. Even only from his words she feels how painful her what her niece has gone through.

"That's... Unfortunately, that's all true..." Misaki massages her own head. "Her father and her extended family has... History."

"Excuse me?"

"...I never see you before with her, when did you meet her?" She tries to dodge his question.

"It's a long story, ma'am..."

"Don't worry, I'm all ears here."

Gilbert takes a deep breath, and starts his story...

00000

"... And then Laura said she wanted to travel with me."

Misaki tries to hold her emotion. Her cheery niece wanted to suicide? What cruel words that her idiot brother said to her niece?

"There's one more, ma'am. She intends to follow me to my world. We may never come back here when that happens..."

"Follow you to your world? Do you mean Sol Ciel?"

"No ma'am. I'm not even from Ar Ciel. I'm from another world called 'Earth'," he takes a deep breath again. "I know ma'am, this is ridiculous and hard to believe, but this is the truth..."

"I've heard a lot of weird stuff happened recently. Necromancers kidnapping everyone that they meet on the old town, one-eyed demon whose slaughtering the soldiers on grand bell..." she looks to him. "But taking my niece to a place where I won't be able to see her anymore?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, but this is her decision, I'm not forcing her to go with me. I'm at first worried too, but after I see how she really hate her extended family and hearing how bad her extended family treat her until she wanted to end her own life..."

Tears comes down from Misaki's eyes, even though she's trying hard to contain her emotion. Gilbert immediately stops talking, he feels really guilty now, when he realizes that her aunt really cares for her.

"Sorry ma'am... "

"I don't know what to say..." She wipes her own tears. "Did you really have to go to your own world? I'll do everything that I could to help you and her, just don't take my niece away..."

"Ma'am, this is not my land, not my home. I won't doubt the land that the maidens will create, Metafalica, will be a beautiful place, but this is not my world..."

She falls in silence. The only way to make her niece stay is to separate her and the young man, but it's really immoral thing to do, especially after he saves her niece from her death, and it won't make her act any better than the cruel things that her family did to her sister's husband and her daughter...

"Akane must be really mad if she saw what happened to her daughter..." Misaki looks really down. "Gilbert... Did you really love her?"

"Of course ma'am, that's why I'm worried about her..."

"Then promise to me..." She stares sharply to his eye. "Promise that you'll always love my niece and take care of her, no matter what happened to you or her."

She looks really serious. Such a commitment...Gilbert closes his eyes and slowly opens his mouth.

"...I promise, ma'am."

Misaki smiles, then she kisses his forehead.

"I trust you, Gilbert, just like how I trust my sister's husband. Even though the rest of my family didn't approve him, I believe that he tried his best to keep my sister and her daughter happy, otherwise she won't even interested to him..."

Her eyes look blank, as if she's looking somewhere, in her memories.

"I'm still have to wait for my... ride back to my world, so I don't know when exactly when I'll back to my world, but when we do know when, I'll make sure to inform you first before we go, so you don't have to worry if we'll suddenly leave."

"Thank you."

*Tap tap!*

"Uhm, mister Gilbert and aunt Misaki, doctor said that we both should go inside now, she'll tell us the result of the examination," Yuki informs them.

"Come on then, let's go."

00000

All of them go inside the examination room, there's the doctor, a nurse, and of course Laura herself, sitting on the side of an examination table.

"Gilbert, are you okay?"

"I'm supposed to ask that to you... Me and your aunt just have some talk, you know, the usual stuff..." He turns to the doctor. "So, uhm, what's the result, miss?"

"Are you her husband?"

"Husband? Not yet miss, I'm her boyfriend."

"Well... I'll tell the result of the examination," she grabs his hand. "You see, it turns out the sickness and vomiting is not caused from the fever, but caused by something natural, occurred to many would-be mothers. It's not severe enough to worry about."

"Excuse me?"

"She's pregnant."

…

The room fills with silence. Misaki and Yuki stares to the only man in the room.

*Bruk!*

He faints.

00000

**15:00 Laura's House**

Gilbert's body lies on the bed inside Laura's room. Misaki shakes her head.

"Like mother like daughter..."

"What?" Laura glares to her

"Maybe it's time to tell you why we were... hateful to your father," Misaki sighs. "He... lay together with my sister way too early. She haven't even introduced him to us. She was gone pregnant, our father is not amused with the news, saying that she bring shame to the family, so he disown her. Your father was blamed by your mother's brothers and sisters for her disown..."

"And you'll do the same thing to him?" Laura glares.

"No, not me, not your uncles and aunts, not your grandfather, no one. I'll tell them you're already married to him, but we have to do some administrative stuff right away if they ask-"

"I don't care, as long as he's okay... We'll go from this world anyway."

"Another world? What do you-"

"I'll explain to you later Yuki," her aunt cuts her niece's question, then turns to the pregnant girl. "Your man has told me earlier... At least do it for your parents. They will be happy if you properly married to your man, right?"

*Srrrk!*

"Urrgh..."

Gilbert rises from the bed, finding himself stared by his girlfriend, her aunt, and her cousin.

"Gilbert..."

"Sorry Laura..." He doesn't dare to look to her. "I... I'm really stupid to follow my lust blindly. How I can support a child..."

"You're being paid for helping the maidens, right? I mean, that's the knight's job..." Yuki asks.

"I think there are only two knights on the team. I'm helping them because they're my friends, and they helped me when I first ended up in this world, so it's natural that I help them, I can't possibly ask money for helping them..." He sighs. "I'm talking about my world. I am a student there, but looking at the situation, I think I have to drop out from my college for full work to support her and my child... Assuming my parents doesn't kill me first for impregnating someone..."

"Ssstt..." She holds his hand tighter, and looks directly to his eyes. "Don't overthink something that's not yet happened. I'll help you too on your effort, remember that."

She gives him a short kiss. Misaki stands up from her seat.

"I'm going back to my home now. I'll be back tomorrow with some form to fill for the marriage certificate. Yuki, you should be going back now before your father worried about you. Laura, make sure to rest well, got it?"

She nods, and both Yuki and Misaki walks out from the room.

"See you tomorrow Laura!"

*Click!*

Yuki closes the door. Gilbert gets up from the bed.

"Laura... I don't know how to raise a-"

"Please don't mind it now... How about you teaching me your language?" She tries to keep the subject away from him. He only stares to her. "Gilbert... Take a deep breath and clear your mind. It won't do good if we keep worrying about it. I mean, it won't do good if you keep thinking about it now..."

Gilbert sit back on the edge of the bed and think about her words. After a while, he takes his laptop that lies on a table nearby.

"Okay... But Laura..."

"What is it?"

"You stay here with your aunt when Croix comes, okay? I'll help the maidens alone."

"Huh? Why?"

"You're pregnant right now. I don't want to risk you in battle..." He tries to spit the rest of the sentence. "...Or our child."

She holds her own stomach. He's right, her body is not her own anymore...

"...How about you? I'm worried about your safety..."

"You know that we're always keeping each other, right? I'll be fine," he smiles, and opens his laptop. "Let's start, shall we? Now where's that game..."

*Hug!*

She crawls around the bed and hug him from behind.

"I'll miss you..."

**END OF CHAPTER 47**


	48. Chapter 48

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 48 = Final Preparation

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

******00:00 Laura's House**

"Zzz..."

*Srrrk!*

Gilbert slowly crawls out from the bed, so he won't awake his soon-to-be wife on his side. When he gets out from the room, he starts his laptop and re-watch the video from his friends.

"We get the point Karen. Stop."

'Ah, right. I stopped the video around this point.'

"Other than the complete walkthrough, we can't help you from this point. Don't hold out when in battle, use all your resource, especially later fight against Raki." Josh told from the video.

'Oh, good. I can have some revenge to her for taking my eye _and_ trying to kill Ms. Reisha.'

"Although you might not want to destroy her. As pointed out by Shun earlier, if you listen, Raki's hacked. Later when Croix and others defeat her, Reki will re-program her so she won't be hostile to you again. Remember that she's Child of Light, Frelia's protector, so it's not a good idea to destroy her, but if she puts you in really dire situation..." Billy told. "Oh, right, there's a robot that looks like Raki, but that's not her. Her name's Reki. Her personality is very different from Raki, if Raki has any personality at all, so make sure to not shoot her."

"Hey, I don't think he's that aggressive."

"I know Gilbert, once he hates someone, he can't easily forgive them. Ah, crap, I talk bad about him. Hey, can we cut this part?"

"We don't have the tim-"

"Hey, the subject is back!" someone yells off-screen.

"Crap, we haven't told him about tree-"

*Click!*

The video ends there. He's expecting a proper goodbye in the video...

'Probably better this way.'

He closes the video and opens the files containing the walkthrough.

'I should read them before Croix comes here... Especially on those future bosses...'

**00000**

******04:00**

'Ugh... What time is it now...'

Gilbert finally reads the last part of the walkthrough. He skipped some of the talking scene and more focused watching the important battles ahead. He also looked carefully to bosses attacks and tries to remember them.

"Too tired to think battle plans for fighting them. At least I've seen what we'll encountered next. Especially that mutated-tree thing... Maybe I'll use my sattelite's bombardment if Lady Cloche's song magic can't instantly destroy it."

Gilbert closes his laptop and put it on the table.

"I won't bring it with me when I traveling with Croix. The laptop could be destroyed in battle like my gun. I can't let that happen... Besides, it looks like we won't take longer than a day inside the tower."

He creeps back to the bed and slowly lays his body on Laura's side.

"I hope I get enough sleep for tomorrow..."

**00000**

******10:00**

Gilbert rises from his bed. He can't find Laura on his side. The house's really quiet like the night before.

'Where is she?'

He wears his hood and steps outside of the house. There are a lot of people on the street, looking to a single direction. A familiar melody is in the air. He knows the voice...

*Clang!*

A loud sound comes from far away: Some of the land is falling apart, specifically, Mint Block. Croix and the others must have convinced the people there to leave. Probably some of the people here are the one who used to lived there.

*Whooosh!*

Some metals falls from the sky, rearranging themselves on the top of Grand Bell, forming a really huge tower.

"They did it. It shouldn't be long before they're returning to Grand Bell." He looks to all the people around him, her lover isn't here. "Well, she'll be back eventually. I better head back now and prepare my equipments before they fetch me."

**00000**

******10:20**

Gilbert wears his clothes back after he finished bathing, then dons his powered suit on the top of it.

"Ugh, my clothes starts to get smelly... At least my journey will be over soon..."

*Click!*

"I'm home."

Gilbert can hear some steps coming from the outside. Gilbert hides right on the door's side, he wants to give a little surprise.

*Click!*

"Gilbert, wake up, Luca has- Huh?" Laura walks into the door, unaware of her boyfriend's presence. Gilbert starts to creep behind her...

*Clang!*

The suit makes a noise when Gilbert take a steps forward. Laura startled by the sound and jumps a little.

"Eep!"

"Boo."

"There you are. Hehe..." Laura smiles when she finds him.

"Feeling better now?"

"Yes, my cold has gone away now, thanks to Lady Cloche's doctor healing me yesterday." She sits on the bed. "Already wear your suit? Croix hasn't come here, has he?"

"No, he hasn't. Anyway, can I leave laptop here? I'm afraid I'll destroy it in battle if I bring it with me."

"Of course, did I have to do something with it?"

"No, just leave it there-"

*Knock knock!*

"I'll get it!" Laura runs to the front door. Gilbert follows from behind.

*Click!*

She opens it, revealing a knight and a revateil stand in front of her.

"Excuse me ma'am, are you Laura?"

"Yes, I am... What is it?"

"Captain Leglius ordered us to fetch you and..."

"Gilbert," The reyvateil behind him reminds.

"Yes, and Gilbert to the Hill of Metafalica. He said they'll meet there."

*Clang!*

Gilbert walks to them after wearing his helmet

"I'm ready, Laura have to stay though. I'll talk to your captain about it."

They nod, and Gilbert walks through the door.

"Gilbert... Be careful,okay? I'll be waiting for you down here." She gives her farewell. "Oh, and could you tell Lady Cloche and Luca my apologize that I can't come to them?"

"Don't worry, I will tell them," He smiles under his helmet. "See you later."

Gilbert and the knights walks away from her house. Laura prays for his safety as he goes from her...

**00000**

******11:00 Grand Bell**

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Gilbert walks out from the lift to the Hill of Metafalica. The knight or the reyvateil sometimes takes a glance at him as he makes loud stepping noises.

'This suit probably intimidated them... After this over, I probably will use the suit for some temporary work while waiting for Billy and others. Need to paint this suit to something less... Intimidating.'

They finally arrive on Hills of Metafalica. Gilbert can see a large entrance to the tower. A large crowd stands in front of it. He can't see Croix or the others there.

"Where are the maidens?"

"They are on their way sir. Please wait." The reyvateil says, then she and him go to the lines of knights, guarding the entrance to the tower. Gilbert can recognize some familiar faces, but no one are able to recognize him in his suit. He spots Miss Reisha standing in the crowds, but he doesn't feel like calling her anyway.

'Miss Reisha... I hope she has bonded her children together or we'll be doome-'

"Hey, Gilbert, over here!"

A voice calls him: It's Cynthia.

'Oh, right, she has seen me in this suit.' He mumbles and walks to her. "Hello."

"You're not going with Coo? What's wrong? "

"I have to tend some matters first, I should be rejoined with them soon. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Awaiting Coo's arrival, of course! We want to give our farewell before he and- hey, they are coming!"

Cynthia points to the gate where Gilbert comes out before; The party has arrived on the place. The crowd immediately cheers for them. They approach the people one by one, sometimes even have a chat with them.

"Hey, you can lift me up for a while, can't you?" Cynthia asks.

"For what?"

"You'll see!"

Gilbert shrugs and carefully grab the smith and raise her. Cynthia waves to Croix. The man only looks for a second, before walking again with the maidens as they talk to the next person.

"Did he looked to us?"

"Yes, but Coo keeps walking with them. I guess I have to wait until my turns. I'm sure he won't ignore me and going into the tower without some farewell from me!"

"And from everyone else too."

"Uh huh. You can put me down now. Thanks for the little help!"

He gently put her back on her feet. They both wait for some time, until the party finally passes them. Luca, Lady Cloche and Croix is approaching Miss Reisha now, while Leglius gives a sign for him to come closer to the party, and he obeys.

"Welcome back."

"Hey, where's Laura?" Cocona looks around.

"She won't joined us, there are some... Problems. I'm worried about her if she's joined us in battle with her current condition."

"What happened?"

"Uh, well, it's... I'll tell your brother later."

Gilbert throws his eyes to the maidens.

"We'll come back soon, then we create Metafalica. I promise."

Miss Reisha nods to Croix, then the maidens walks back to the party. Gilbert can't see worry in her face anymore, unlike back where Luca was had a fight with her.

'It seems she's confident with her children now. I hope that's good enough for us.'

"Laura's not coming?" Croix asks.

"I'll tell the details later. Too much people here."

"Coo!" Cynthia emerges from the crowd, probably tired waiting for him. "You're really going to leave me, huh? What will I do if you go away? How am I supposed to go on living?"

"I'll be back, why do you sound so melodramatic?"

"Oh, you're so mean! I'm acting out a lover's parting as it should be!"

"Uh, Cynthia, he's already-"

"You're lucky to have such a pretty lover see you off!" Luca plays along with Cynthia, cutting Gilbert's speech.

"Really, I'm so envious..." Lady Cloche adds.

"Knock it off, please..." Croix rolls his eyes and facepalmed. "Anyway, see you later, Cynthia. It'll be a long, long time. Go find someone nice."

"You're abandoning me!? How... Horrible! "

She lets out some tears and runs off, just like in some TV drama show.

"She'll be alright, won't she?"

"Cynthia's strong, I'm sure she will be fine, " Croix shrugs, then turns to Targana. "Prince Targana."

"I'm no longer a prince. Just call me Targana, like-"

*Bang!*

Jacqli knocks Gilbert's suit to gain his attention while Croix talks to his friend.

"Huh?"

"Did you still holding the vial that you gave to Spica back on Etna?"

"Well... Yeah."

"Do you have any plan to use it?"

"Well- Wait, did you know what it-"

"Just tell me."

"...Probably."

"Good. I can think a plan should you ever use it."

"Do you know what the vial does?"

"Oh, I know, but I think you want to keep it secret, so probably it'll be better if we keep quiet about it. I only need to know if you are willing to use the potion or not."

He stares to Croix, whose still talking to his friend.

'He must be told her about the vial. She doesn't mention the incident on the tower though, so probably Croix only tell her the use of the berserk potion, and she mentioned about keeping it a secret, so he probably didn't told everyone about it.'

"What vial?"

"A child isn't suppose to overhear adult's conversation." Jacqli smacks her forehead with her index finger.

"Jeez! What's with the 'You're a child' thing?"

"Cocona..." Gilbert slowly talks, trying to find an excuse. "There are things that man, or woman, or every intelligent being for that matter, not meant to know."

"Huh...?"

"I mean, sometimes people hide their secret for a good reason. We have to respect it."

"I get it, but why treating me like a child?"

"... Uh, because you're easy to tease?" He guess. Cocona looks to the back haired reyvateil, and she only shrugs while adding a smug smile on her face. "Don't take it too seriously."

"Okay..."

Gilbert pats her shoulder, and turns to Croix.

"Are we all ready here?"

"Wait." He points to Amarie, whose talking to a white-haired guy. Gilbert can't remember his name, but he knows he ever meet him somewhere...

"Come back alive."

"Of course!"

Amarie runs back to the party and nods, giving a sign that she's ready to go. Croix turns to others, and they nod too. Everyone is ready now.

"Finally... to the heavens."

******END OF CHAPTER 48**


	49. Chapter 49

**Another World**

Summary : A man found himself in another world. Can he survive and go back to his world?

Rating : T

Genre: Adventure

Disclaimer: I don't have Ar Tonelico series, its characters, anything, duh.

Chapter 49 = Climbing the tower, pt. 1

"Talks"

'Thoughts'

*Sound Effects*

******11:00 **

**"**Okay Gilbert, no one else but us is here," Croix says while venturing the huge tower. "What's wrong with Laura?"

"Well..." He takes a deep breath, ready to drop the bomb to them. "She's pregnant."

"Really?" Frelia smiles. "Congratulations!"

'Eh?' Gilbert quite shocked, he expects them to scold him or angry, but he doesn't expect.

"You don't really have to hide it." Croix adds. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, in my country it's not legal to-"

*Clang!*

Two robots descend from the top.

"Damn, the Divine Army...Get into position!" Croix commands.

"Don't worry. They won't attack us, Frelia's here." He walks to them. "Let us through-"

*Wuuung!*

The robot turns to Frelia and lets out a cannon from it's hand, aiming her.

"I'll get them!"

Gilbert raises his weapon and shoot them before it could shoot Frelia.

*WHOOOOOSH!*

The bullet punch through both robots and instantly destroy them. It also make a large hole on the wall behind the robot.

"Whew. Job's done," Gilbert reloads his all-purpose weapon. "It kinda slow since I have to reload it every shot."

"I intentionally made it so. If you shot it repeatedly without some delay, you'll break apart the weapon," Jacqli explains the design decision.

*Wuuuung!*

Another wave of robots descents from the sky. Gilbert haven't finished reloading his rifle.

"Behind you Gilbert!"

*Bang!*

A shot from nowhere runs ablaze, and one robot falls before it can attack. Gilbert backs away and try to reload his weapon quickly.

*Clang!*

His hand dropped the bullet from anxiety before he could insert it into the chamber.

'Dammit dammit dammit, I hate bolt-action rifle..."

*Tang Tang Tang!*

Cocona quickly steps in front of Gilbert and deflects the bullets shot from the robot to him.

"Use your shield Gilbert!"

"I'm trying to reload my-"

Another shot pierces the robot's body.

"Huff, you can never find good help these days..." A man emerges from the side: It's Chancellor Alfman. "Sweeties with big toys are still sweeties after all."

"Alfman! You're alive!?" Legius surprised when seeing him..

"Of course! I would never allow myself to die that easily!"

"Why would a cowardly traitor help us?

"Hmph. Is that any way to speak to the person who just saved your men's life?" He smiles to Lady Cloche. "I had a change of heart, after what I sa-"

*WHOOOOOSH!*

His speech is cut by a loud sound from Gilbert. Robot pieces falls from the sky afterward.

"They coming again!"

*Bang!*

Alfman shots a robot that just land behind him.

"...Now, go on Maiden... The people are waiting for you."

"But-"

"I said, leave this place to me! You have a Goddess to beat!" He turns his face behind, ready to face another Divine Army that will come to him.

"Thank you very much!" Croix nods.

"...We're counting on you," Leglius adds.

"Feh, don't waste your words on that sentimental crap. Leave already..."

The party runs to the nearby elevator and rides it. They can see two Divine Armies lands near him before the elevator door closed.

"Well then, I'll be your new opponent for today. If you want to get by, you'll have to kill me first!"

00000

"Why did you called Alfman a traitor?" Gilbert asks Leglius inside the moving lift.

"He tried to abandon this world when Metafalica fails back when you're in coma." Leglius quickly explains. "Anyway, how much ammo did you carry for that shot?"

"Let's see..." Gilbert take a quick look on his ammo box. "Nineteen shots remaining."

"You should conserve your ammo for stronger enemies like Raki. We'll probably encounter her again as we getting closer to the 'goddess'."

"The only time I am able to land a hit to her is when I caught her off guard, otherwise she's way too fast for me to aim. I can't hide with this suit, it generates too much noise."

"There are hundreds of divine army on the way to the heaven. Who knows how much that the 'goddess' activate to fight us." Shun informs him.

"Will Alfman be fine down there?"

"The fact that he survived back when I sabotage his ship... Who knows," Jacqli says.

*Ting!*

"Phew, that's one long lift." Gilbert steps out once the lift stops moving. "So, this is heaven?"

"No," Shun answer him. "This is the middle section of the tower. We need to find another lift-

*WHOOOOSH!*

Gilbert shots down another Divine Army that just descended from the sky.

"I swear those Divine Army are everywhere..."

"Gilbert, conserve your ammo." Croix tell him.

"But we need to save our strength for the 'goddess.' She clearly tries to worn us out."

"You could use the small guns or the energy blade to combat them. I named it 'All-purpose weapon', not 'One-shot-annihilation weapon', Jacqli chides his decision. "You could use the small guns or the shield instead of trying to reload the big gun. If Cocona didn't save you, you'll already hurt back there."

"... Okay. I'll-"

*Wuuuung!*

Another pair of divine Army shows up from the corridor. The party gets into their position to battle. Gilbert shots some small rounds to them.

*Ctaktaktak!*

Those shots staggers a Divine Army. One of the round hits what he presumed to be it's eyes.

*Clang!*

Leglius swings his shield and hits another Divine Army, distracting it. Gilbert activates his energy blade and runs to the blinded robot. It shots to random direction, trying to hit its target even when blinded. Gilbert raises his shield to the front to make sure he won't get hit by a stray shot.

*Clang!*

Amarie shots the robot to give Gilbert an opening. It works: The robot staggered again for a moment. Gilbert use the chance and thrust the energy blade to the robot's body. It finally stops moving after a few thrust.

"Cro, I'm ready!"

Cocona charges her baton to create a huge energy blade. Croix strikes the last Divine Army with his spear and launches it to the sky. Cocona jumps up, and slice the Divine Army on mid air, destroying it.

*Boom!*

She lands gracefully with the sliced robot parts.

"Nice move."

"Hehe!" She gives her brother a high five. The reyvateils dispel their song magic after they see the battle is over.

"No time to waste. We need to keep moving before they get our position again." Shun orders

00000

*Ding!*

"I swear if I have a building this tall, I'll build a teleporter to travel around. This is the fifth lift that we ride today, and they all really long!" Gilbert whines.

"At least it's not stairs!" Cocona punches his rib.

A memory passes on Gilbert's mind, back when he played a certain RPG where he have to climb more than one hundred stairs as an optional route. He shudders when he imagined climbing through all the stairs to the sky.

"... Just the thought of it make me shudder..."

A robot girl walks around in front of them as they walks into a room. She seems to be looking for something. The party recognizes her and immediately goes to combat stance.

"It's Raki!"

The robot girl turns to see the source of the yell.

"Huh!? Wait just a second, please!" She instantly moves to Croix and push him, knocking him off his feet before he can attack. "I am not Raki! My name is Reki! I have no combat functions whatsoever! I'm just a precocious and cutesy helper robot!"

'Oh, she must be the one that Billy mentioned before. She's really awfully similar to Raki.' He observes her look while she tries to convince the others that she's not a threat, even thought she was just 'attacked' Croix.

"Ahhhhh! I forgot!" She hits her own metal head. "After such a long break, I need to reacquaint myself with my role. Let me try it one more time: Can you please leave and come back in? And this time, don't attack me all of a sudden!"

"Just tell us where we-"

*Bzzzzz!*

She charges some kind of light in front of her, caught the party off guard.

"Hurry up and get out!"

"Hey, you said that you don't have any combat function whatsoever!" Gilbert calls her out and raises his gun. Lady Cloche taps his shoulder and shakes her head.

"Let's just do what she says..." She suggest. Gilbert lowers his weapon and moves out back to the lift along with the rest of the party then Croix close the door.

"What a weird robot," He rubs the part where the robot girl pushes him.

"At least we can solve this peacefully..." Luca says.

*Ding!*

After a few seconds, they re-enter the door and immediately greeted by the same, but now cheerful-looking robot.

"Hello, and welcome to the Hot Spot!" She bows to them. "This is where traders and transport dealers passing through the tower can take a little break! "

"Traders? Wait, did they have to climb the tower first from the bottom to reach this place?" Gilbert asks.

"There are airports near this room for airships to dock!"

"Wait... Why we have to climb the tower then? We could take airship and skip all those divine army in the middle."

Croix stares to Shun, demanding an answer.

"Hey, I can't remember _all_ section of the tower. I don't want to waste our time too."

"We're already here anyway, it's useless complaining about it now," Croix shakes his head.

"This is a lodging facility and a resort complex with high-tech Dive Systems! This non-profit public facility was created by the nation's public works, so they're all very cheap! Come enjoy this government operation resort complex, the Hot Spot!"

"Those lines are sounds like an advertisement..." Luca comments.

"Are you related in any way to Raki?" Croix now asks her.

"Raki is a combat-type maintenance-roid created at the same time as me. Our models are the same, but our components are completely different! Raki is programmed to protect the Goddess inside Sol Marta, which is further above us." She tells him the difference. "Please enjoy your stay!"

"Wait, we're not stayi-"

"Don't bother correcting her. Her dialogue doesn't segue well at all. Seems like her programmer sucked," Jacqli holds Gilbert before he can throw anymore question to her. "Where's the lift to Sol Marta?"

"It's back there!" She points to a door behind.

"Thanks." Croix nods. "Should we rest here for a while?"

"I'm okay." Lady Cloche tells him her condition.

"I can still walk. I don't want people down there waiting too long." Luca also gives her thought.

"Let's go then."

They leave the weird robot alone, then proceed to the next lift...

******END OF CHAPTER 49**


End file.
